The Beloved and The Just: A Narnian Love Story
by EverAfter90
Summary: He ruled his country with justice and wisdom; she ruled his heart with love
1. Prologue

_He ruled his country with wisdom and justice. She ruled his heart with love._

**(O.K this starts where "The Horse and his Boy" left off, so if you have not read it, you need too!)**

* * *

The Archenland hot sun blazed down on a young king and his horse, who were preparing to leave and finally go home to their country.

"_Soon I'll be home in Narnia. Seems like an eternity since I've been there,"_ thought Edmund as he saddled his horse. It had actually been only three months since he left his home to escort his sister, Susan, to Tashbaan. The whole thing had resulted into an awful war with the Calormines. The war was now over and they were finally able to leave.

"Come on, Ed," came Lucy's impatient voice. "Quit daydreaming or we'll never get home!"

"Are you ready?" he asked

"Well are you?"

"Yes"

"Then I guess I'm ready too."

Edmund helped his sister on to her horse and then mounted onto his. King Lune and his family all came out onto the steps to say goodbye. Behind Edmund and Lucy were their small band of Narnian court members who had traveled with them and they too were ready to go home. They all called out their go farewells to one another.

"Goodbye! Thank you for everything!" said Lucy

"No, thank you. Were it not for you and your brother, we would have never have gotten through this war," said King Lune. "And so I thank you."

"I'm glad we could help," Edmund said shaking the King's hand. The small band waved their goodbyes and rode off into the long hot sun. They had just gotten through the gates of Anvard, when Crown Prince Cor, Prince Corin, and Lady Aravis ran up to them.

"You won't forget me? Will you Queen Lucy?" cried Aravis. "You and your brother are the first real friends I've ever had!"

"Of course, I won't forget you!" said Lucy who never forgot anyone she met.

We'll write to you. All three of you." said Edmund. With that taken care of, the three children waved goodbye as they went through the gates and into the Pass into Narnia.

"What do you mean your first real friend? I thought **I** was your first real friend!" Cor shouted angrily at Aravis

"Oh, don't you get foul with me!" snapped Aravis. "You know what I meant!"

"Just stop it, you two! I can't take much of this any longer!" cried Corin

"I'm glad we left when we did," sighed Philip with relief as the three children started into a row. I couldn't take much more of Tashbaan either. Although I must say that Calormen hoses are rather...well...charming," he finished quickly.

"What...what are you getting at, Philip?" asked Edmund a little gleefully.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," said the horse trying not to look in his masters eyes. Edmund dropped the subject, but not without catching a glance at Lucy who was trying to stifle a laugh. The group rode on into the mountains where it became considerably cool. They then broke for lunch and after an hour they saddled up and continued with their journey. Soon the sun was beginning to set and just over the horizon, they could see the top of Cair Paravel gleaming over the entire country.

"_Almost there,"_ thought Edmund. "_I'm_ _almost home."_

As they rode on, Lucy suddenly got a worried expression on her face. "What is Peter going to say if he finds out that we went into battle without even consulting him first? He might be really mad," she said.

Edmund thought for a second and then said. "Well, Peter doesn't have to know _everything_ we did while he was away? Now Does he?"

"I suppose your right," giggled Lucy. And together they rode into Narnia. They were finally home.


	2. A Narnian Summer

**Chapter One. A Narnian Summer**

**6 months later**

Edmund closed the book he was reading and laid back in the tree. The sun moved gracefully across the branches sending fragments of light all over the forest. Every now and then, a cool breeze would circle through and then leave as quickly as it came. It was the hottest summer Narnia had ever experienced, everyone was getting miserable and agitated so the slightest wind, no matter how small, felt miraculous.

Edmund looked up through the branches and saw only a brilliant almost blinding light peer down at him making his already hot and sweaty face even hotter. He was also exhausted from being out in the burning hot weather for so long. He knew Susan was going to get on his case for being outside, but he needed to get out regardless of what the weather was. He needed to be alone. Away from all the sounds and distractions of Cair Paravel and just get lost in his books...and his thoughts.

Now that he was 18, (he had celebrated his birthday two months ago, in March) new expectations were upon him. He was expected to grow up, be present at more occasions, fight more battles and worst of all (to him at least) get married. The country was always on Peter about marriage ever since he was seventeen and now it would be on both of them. Of course, nobody ever dare get on to Susan or even Lucy about marriage, but it must be different with kings or so he thought. He could think of that only logical answer, but there was one thing he could not understand.

_"Who would ever want to marry into-_ "

"Edmund, where are you!"

He looked out of the tree and saw the form of a half man, half goat approaching him. It was .

"I'm in the forest, Tumnus! What do you need?" he called as he climbed out of the tree.

When the faun reached him, he had to stop a moment to catch his breath. Finally, he said, "Your brother would like a word with you. Well, several in fact."

"Why? What have I done?" he asked

"I don't know. I was just sent to find you," answered the faun. "You do know that Susan is going to have your head for being out here? Don't you?"

"Well that's a risk I'm willing to take to take if I want to be alone," said Edmund as they walked back home.

When they reached the castle, they found just about everyone in the household swimming in the beach the lay just under Cair Paravel. Nyads and Dryads splashed with the mermaids. Centaurs and fauns cooled the human part of their bodies while their animal legs churned the water sending waves up on land. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver lay out on the rocks sunning themselves and birds would dive in and out of the water like some game. There was allot of talking and laughing going on and people almost seemed to forget the burning hot sun that was blazing down on top of them.

"Tumnus, Edmund! Get in! It feels great!" shouted Mr. Beaver.

"In a minute" the faun called back. "When your brother gets done talking to you, you really need to get in too. You don't look to well," said Tumnus as they reached the steps to where Peter's office was located.

"I'll try. If I can get away from Susan," he said.

Then Mr. Tumnus left the king and joined his friends down on the beach. Edmund walked up the stairs and went through the large ivory doors of Cair Paravel. As soon as he went inside, all the colors of the large, entry room swirled into in a strange purple haze. He became so dizzy that he almost forgot where he was.

"Ed, watch where you're going! Your going to run into somebody" said Lucy's cheery voice. She was dressed in a simple thin dress that she used for swimming.

"Are you going out?" asked Edmund

"Yes. I finally got Susan to let me go out, but only for an hour. She thinks I'll do some major damage to my skin or something like that."

"Well, have fun and be careful of the centaurs. You know what their like in the water," he warned.

"I know, I know! I've already gotten the same lecture from Susan," said Lucy irritably as she bounded out the castle.

_"Lucky girl"_ thought Edmund. He walked up the long stairwell and passed through several bright sunlit rooms before he got to Peter's office. When he finally reached the door, he saw his older sister come out of the hallway. She had braided her long dark hair so it was out of her face and in her hands she carrying some clean towels.

"Oh good Mr. Tumnus did get you" she said cheerily as she gave the towels to a large bird to give to the people on the beach. Susan was about to leave when Edmund asked, "What exactly does Peter need me for?"

"I don't know. He didn't tell me and I can't read his mind" came his sister's ever practical answer as she disappeared into the hallway. Edmund turned and knocked on the door.

"Come in, Edmund" came Peter's voice through the door.


	3. Sails To Terebinthia

**Chapter Two. Sails To Terebinthia**

Peter had the largest office in the entire palace and it was actually three large rooms instead of one. It took up one entire floor in Cair Paravel. Books, maps, and paintings lined the burgundy red walls in one room. Elegant couches, chairs and tables were set up for diplomatic meetings in another. Moreover, his regular working space consisted of a little bit of the other two rooms for the third and largest one. It also had many windows, which were all open and letting in an extreme amount of blinding light and humid heat. Peter was at his desk overlooking maps, letters, and diplomatic papers. He didn't even look up when his brother came in. Edmund sat down, still pondering about what was going on. Outside, he could hear the laughter and splashing of the others in the water and desperately wishing he were down there now.

"Edmund, do you mind going on a diplomatic duty with Lucy for a couple of weeks?" said Peter as he finally looked up at him.

He couldn't believe it. That was what Peter had wanted, a diplomatic duty in this kind of weather? Where did he want him to go? Anywhere else could be just as bad!

"Yes, I do mind! Its blazing hot out there and you're basically asking me to commit suicide! Are you crazy?" Edmund started in disbelief.

"Just let me finish," Peter said. All I want you to do is to go to Terebinthia for about a week and take care of some official duties. Normally I would do it myself, but now that your 18, I think its time for you to start taking on diplomacy in and out of Narnia. Actually, you've been ready for a long time. Especially, with the way that you handled that war in Tashbaan 6 months ago. I was rather impressed by it."

Edmund thought for a moment. He was actually quite pleased that Peter thought that he was ready for 'outside diplomacy' as Lucy called it. In addition, he was even more pleased that his brother was impressed by the way he handled the war in Tashbaan. It was usually Peter who would go out into war and fight, but for the first time, Peter wasn't there and it was all up to him to make the decisions, not just as a king, but as a brother and protector.

Edmund looked at his brother. He was as hot and as sweaty as he was. His blue tunic was open and his dark blond hair was practically wet. He looked very tired and exhausted. Of the four siblings, it was always Peter who had to work the hardest and the longest and he needed a break.

"All right, I'll do it" Edmund finally said. "Why does Lucy need to come with me though?

Well, you know she wasn't too pleased with me when she was grounded from all life outside of Narnia when I found out she had fought in the Tashbaan war. So now that her punishment is over, she deserves some time outside of the country. Although I still don't think it was long enough," said Peter looking a little apprehensive about what he just told him.

"I think 6 months of punishment is perfectly fine," said Edmund. "How she handled all of it, I don't know. Are you just doing this so that she'll talk to you again? Because if you are, that will mean Tumnus loses his bet with Beaver in seeing if Lucy will avoid talking to you for seven months."

"Whatever it takes to just make her smile at me again, I'll do it." Peter said getting up out of his chair. "Maybe I was too hard on her, but you know I just don't want her..." he broke off.

"You don't want her to get hurt or grow up?" Edmund asked

"Both," said Peter.

"Well, between you and Susan constantly worrying about her, I sometimes don't blame her for just wanting to get out," Edmund said.

They walked into the room filled with maps and books. Peter and Edmund looked over the maps that would be required for the journey.

Peter calculated that it would take about 3 1/2 days to get to Terebinthia, if the weather was good. They would probably spend about 5 days there going over certain issues in the country, meeting the family and their people, and the ever usual banqueting and feasting.

Edmund was the only one in the family who had never been to Terebinthia so he was getting very excited about.

The country itself was incredibly small; practically a dot on the map. And it was also very young; just about 500 years old. It was in the Bight of Colormen and was originally settled be Calormen people.

Before, it was full of exiles and refugees from other countries that had been destroyed by war, disease, disasters and other horrible things.

The crown prince of Tashbaan at the time was exiled there for rebelling against his father and refusing to carry on the religion of his people. He had had a dream about a magnificent lion that told him to leave his heathen religion and for the prince and whoever else believed, to follow him instead. The Prince, his wife, their seven children and about a hundred other people were banished to Terebinthia for believing this dream.

Therefore, by the oddest of circumstances, the small poor country became a wonderful and powerful monarchy.

All the exiled and refugees wanted someone, anyone, who would lead them out of their misery. The crown prince did just that. He lifted their heads and raised them towards the sky; towards hope.

No longer was Terebinthia a country of want and poverty and need. Now a strong and independent country that was a refuge for all those seeking shelter and peace.

The prince built a beautiful castle and gave it the name _Eyra Caladrin_ that literally means, "Castle in the air." So that, no matter how far away you are, all you have to do is wait for the sun to set, look to the east, and in the glow of the evening sky there is _Eyra Caladrin_ waiting to give you shelter. (This was wonderful for the Narnian creatures escaping the 100-year winter by the White Witch.)

Edmund had seen that beautiful sight many times, but never thought he would finally be able to go there. He and Peter finally settled all the arrangements, gone through all the plans, and made sure that their ship the _Splendor Hyaline_ was in good repair.

"Well, now that that's all taken care of, I am **dying** to get out if this palace!" Peter said as they walked down the stairwell from his office. "I can't believe how hot this summer has been."

"I can't guarantee that outside is going to be any better," said Edmund as they walked into the blazing heat.

They walked out onto the beach and found that just about every Narnian creature was relaxing there.

Susan was resting in some shady trees with Mrs. Beaver and was keeping a close eye on her sister.

Lucy on the other hand was still playing in the water with the Nyads and centaurs. Mr. Tumnus, Mr. Beaver, and Orieus were drying off on shore.

Edmund walked down to the shoreline and called out to his sister.

"Lucy!" Edmund called. "Come here!"

She stopped playing and rather reluctantly waded up to him.

"Do you have any plans for the day-after-tomorrow?" asked Edmund

"No, I don't think so. Why?" She asked in confusion.

"Well, I was wondering if maybe you would like to go to Terebinthia with me for about a week," replied Edmund waiting for her reaction.

"Oh, I would love to go, Ed!" Then she stopped, "What about-?"

"If you just talk to Peter again, he'll let you do whatever you want to do," said Edmund.

Lucy took a moment to let this all sink in. Then cried out, "Peter, Peter! I'm so sorry! I will never ever disobey you again! I promise! Thank you so much! I'll never make you angry again!" she said as she ran up out of the water to him and threw her soaking wet body onto him giving him the biggest hug possible.

Peter laughed as he hugged her back. Even though he was wet, he didn't care. It actually felt quite good, but what felt even better was hearing his little sister talk to him again.

"Give me my money! The whole lot!" shouted Beaver in triumph as he hopped up and down in front of Tumnus.

"What!" said Tumnus in disbelief. "And I only had one more month left," he groaned as he went through his money purse. "How much was it again, 9 coins?"

"You wish! It was 12 pounds all around," Beaver gloated as the faun handed over his money.

"Well, it wasn't exactly hard earned," said Orieus as he watched Beaver dance around.

"I'll say!" said Mrs. Beaver in disgust. "Honestly, betting on something like that its almost...well never mind. I'll still don't like it! I don't like it at all."


	4. The Castle In the Air

**Chapter Three. The Castle In the Air**

_"Edmund"_

The voice disappeared as well as the light. Edmund woke up with a sudden jerk and found that he was back in his room in Cair Paravel.

It was hot that night, but he didn't know if he was sweating from the humidity or the dream he had just had.

He had been walking through a pitch-black forest when all of a sudden he saw a soft light glowing in a part of the forest.

The light seemed to be pulling him toward a certain spot and so he followed it.

Then he heard a voice that sounded like a young girls and she was calling out to someone. As he came closer the light became dimmer, so he began to run to catch it.

Suddenly he heard the girl softly say his name and then light vanished and he woke up.

_"Who was that girl? Where did the light come from? And where was that forest?"_ he thought as he sat up in bed.

The night was quiet and still and the only noise was the sounds of the crickets chirping.

It was a full moon that night and all his windows were open so the light of the moon filled his entire room. Edmund got out of bed and walked toward the open balcony window.

It was beautiful that night. The moon shone down on the Great Eastern Ocean that was perfectly still and a soft breeze hummed gently through trees.

Now that he was full awake, he may as well do something, anything really, to occupy his time. So he opened his door and walked down the brightly lit hallway (the moon showed all through the hallways as well because the windows were open).

As he passed by Lucy's room, he saw that she had left her door open to let air circulate through. He watched for a moment as she slept peacefully. Her long, dark, auburn hair was tossed all over her pillow and there was a soft and calm expression on her face.

_"Nice to know someone can get some sleep,"_ he thought as he walked down the stairewell.

When he reached the bottom, he found a stack of dry towels by the stairs. Susan and Mrs. Beaver must have washed and dried the towels and left them there for anyone to use. Edmund grabbed one and slowly opened the heavy oak doors of the palace.

Outside was so bright that he didn't need a candle. He could see everything as clearly, as if it were daytime.

Edmund made his way down to the beach. The grass soon became sand that felt good underneath his bare feet and he could smell the salty ocean.

When he got to high grassy ledge near the water, he climbed up onto a rock and placed his towel there.

Then, with no hesitation, he jumped off the rock and dove into the water, breaking the still picture into ripples. The water was ice cold and crashed all around him. When he made it to the top, he was cold and felt so much better. He swam around and dove in and out of the water.

Suddenly something in the sky caught his eye.

He looked straight ahead and found a white shadow softly rising into the air. It was in the shape of some sort of building, a castle in the air.

The moon was so bright, that the reflection of _Eyra Caladin _had a mirror effect in the water and it rose straight up into the sky.

Actually, nobody really knew how the palace's shadow was able to be seen over long distances at sunset and during a full moon, not even the Elvenwoods (the royal family of Terebinthia), but that was why it was called the "Castle in the Sky" so nobody really questioned it.

Edmund was transfixed. He had never seen any sight so beautiful in his entire life.

The palace rose higher into the air, although it was still shadowy, it was becoming a brilliant white color. It then began to reflect into the water that Edmund was swimming in. He was so enachanted by it that he seemed to forget where he was.

"Do you know its 1:00 in the morning?" Edmund almost flipped out. He turned around and found Peter standing on the grassy ledge with an amused smile on his face.

"Why are you swimming out here and in the middle of night at all times, Ed?" he asked.

For a moment Edmund had forgotten why he was there and tried to find the words to explain.

"I couldn't sleep, my mind was spinning with certain issues, and not to mention it was hot in my room so I came out here to clear my mind," he explained quickly.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked Peter.

"Well, I was looking over some papers in my office when I saw something in the sky, like a ghost, and so I followed it and found you here," he said.

While he was talking he looked up at the shadowy white castle in the sky.

"It is a beautiful sight, isn't it?" said Edmund as he looked into the sky and then down into the reflection in the water.

"Yes, it's even more beautiful in reality, but you'll find that out soon," Peter said as Edmund swam over to the ledge where his brother was standing.

"Will you get my towel?" he asked as he pointed to the rock.

Peter grabbed it off the rock and reached it out to his brother. Edmund grabbed the towel and pulled it and his brother into the water. Peter dove in headfirst and when he came up, he was livid.

"Edmund James Pevensie!" he barked. "What was that for!" he yelled as he began to beat his brother with the wet towel.

"I just always-Stop that!" he said as he tried to get away from the flying towel. "I just always wanted to do that and now seemed a perfect time to do it!" he said as grabbed the towel away from his brother.

Soon they got into a raging water fight. Splashing, diving and making quite a ruckus. Afterwards they became exhausted and threw themselves onto the wet sand and let the water drain all around them.

"I suppose I owe you an apology," said Edmund as he caught his breath.

"Not really," said Peter. "It was fun, a bit of a shock, but still fun. I've almost forgotten what fun felt like."

"Glad I could help you remember," Edmund said. As they were resting, they began to talk and looked up at the few stars in the sky. Suddenly they heard a familiar cockney accent.

"What the blazes are you two doing out here, in the middle of the night!"

"Beaver?" inquired Edmund. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me!" he hissed. "The Mrs. and I can hear you two all the way from our place!"

The Beavers lived in a cozy dam near Cair Paravel. They couldn't imagine living in such a massive building so Mr. Beaver built a home that was close to the palace.

"Sorry we woke you up," said Peter apologetically.

"Well, it is hot out tonight so I guess you two needed to relax, but the next time be a little quieter," he reprimanded. He was about to turn around and leave when Edmund called out to him.

"Beaver wait! Will you get us some towels? They're in the palace by the-

"Stairwell, I know. Mrs. Beaver was so angry at the bet that Tumnus and I made, that she made us wash and dry all the towels that were used today," he said sheepishly. Both brothers burst out laughing.

"How did we miss that one?" laughed Edmund.

"Well, I'm glad you did!" said Beaver sharply. He got them their towels and said goodnight. They both dried off and climbed up to the grassy ledge where they fell asleep and stayed there for the rest of the night. When they woke up it was about 5:30 and the sun was already up. Edmund woke up and rolled away from the sun that was shining in his eyes.

"Peter," he whispered.

"Hmmmm," came his reply.

"Wake up,"

"What time is it?" said Peter drowsily.

"About 5:30," Edmund answered getting up.

"Good grief it's bright!" he said as he put his hand over his eyes. They made their way back to the palace and got ready for breakfast.

The entire day was spent for getting ready to go to Terebinthia . Clothes were packed, food was getting prepared for the journey and important documents had been written up.

Finally, the morning came when it was time for them to leave. Susan and Peter were giving the younger ones last minute instructions ("As if we really need them," groaned Lucy).

They climbed onto the _Splendor Hyaline _and waved good-by to everyone. The sun was shining bright and it was a clear day. It was only Edmund and Lucy going away, but still everyone was out there waving them off.

"Good-by everyone!" yelled Lucy as they took off. Susan still looked a little uncomfortable, but Peter had full confidence in the two of them.

"They'll be fine," he assured her.

"Oh, I hope so," she said. "Especially since it's only them going. No one else is going with them."

Edmund gave the commands to start the ship and then they were off.

For the next few days, they sailed through clear sunny water and into the Bight of Calormen.

Then on the third day, they saw the island of Terebinthia rise up in front of them. Actually, what they saw first was the palace glistening white with flags and towers.

It was larger than Cair Paravel and just as beautiful. It stood on the highest hill top and could be seen by everyone in the country.

_"There it is,"_ thought Edmund excitedly. They sailed into the port dock where servants from the palace were there to greet them.

"Your Majesties," they bowed. "Welcome to Terebinthia. Allow us to escort you to the palace."

Edmund helped Lucy off and they stepped onto land. The ship's crew followed behind.

The country was larger than what Edmund had expected. Once they were off the beach, they stepped into a village of busy people, who seemed to be waiting for them.

"The people here are lovely," said Lucy as a child walked up to her, curtsied, and gave her a bouquet of flowers.

Edmund smiled. It was a small, clean, and peaceful looking village with stone houses on large areas of land.

Children were running around and playing games in the village square, while their parents shopped (It was market day) for items in the market. The country itself was one huge island that was surrounded by rolling hills and mountains to the north and clear beaches to the south. Acres of rich green farmland stretched from the east to the west.

Terebinthia was so breathtakingly beautiful, that Edmund could not even find the words to describe it.

_"To think that this was once a place of poverty and despair!" _he thought.

The servants led them up to the palace that gleamed in the sun. There on top of the stairwell were the King and Queen of Terebinthia.

"Welcome to our home, your Majesties," King Christian said as he and his wife bowed to the siblings. Edmund and Lucy bowed and then they were finally taken in to the Castle in the Air.


	5. Edmund Meets the Elvenwoods

**Chapter Four. Edmund Meets the Elvenwoods**

Edmund looked out of the balcony window of his temporary room at the palace and gazed at the beautiful ocean view.

It was about mid-afternoon and he and Lucy had finally gotten to their rooms. His room was large and airy and had a stunning view of the beach.

Never had he felt such comfort and peace in his life. He watched as young children played in the water, gather seashells and chase seagulls. Older children walked on the sand and kept a lookout for the younger ones.

It was much cooler in Terebinthia and Edmund felt that he could live there forever. Suddenly there was a knock at his door and Lucy walked right in.

"King Christian said we can do whatever we want until supper," she said gleefully. "I've already met Princess Halina and she is absolutely wonderful! She's going to show me around the palace and you can come too."

"No, I think I'll go down to the beach," said Edmund. "Thanks though."

"Suit your self," said Lucy and left.

Edmund grabbed his cloak and just before he went out the door, he took off his crown and placed on his bedside table. He wanted to blend in as much as possible with the people.

He walked out into the hallways and was greeted by friendly staff members going back and forth between rooms.

If the palace was a glorious sight on the outside, it was an even more marvelous sight on the inside. Rich carpets, white stonewalls that held family portraits and treasures, and high magnificent ceilings almost made it look like one massive museum. _Eyra Caladin _had many rooms and many windows and many doors that tempted the most curious person (like Lucy) to go and explore.

Edmund couldn't take it all in, it was all to fascinating. Actually, he was so fascinated that he almost fell down the stairs and into Queen Maria.

"Careful, you don't want to hurt yourself," she said kindly.

"I'm sorry," Edmund said sheepishly.

"No harm done," she replied. "How do you like it here so far?"

"It's wonderful and so incredibly beautiful!" he exclaimed

"That's good. Well, enjoy yourself and supper will be at seven," she said.

Edmund grinned as he went out the door and was suddenly greeted by a pleasant gust of wind. He wrapped his cloak closer around his shoulders and walked down to the beach.

On his way down, people greeted him as if he were a regular passerby that had lived there all his life and it felt wonderful.

When he got to the ocean, he found that most of the young children had gone and so the beach was almost deserted. As came closer to the edge of the water, he could feel it splash coolly onto his face.

"_I wonder what Peter and Susan are doing right now,"_ he thought as he looked out across the glistening ocean. Suddenly he heard a soft whinny behind him. He turned around and saw a beautiful brown horse coming near the water.

"Hello, what are you doing here?" he asked as he gently stroked him. The horse didn't reply, because only Narnian horses could talk, but that didn't matter to Edmund.

He took the horse by his reign and walked him across the beach, stroking him as he went along.

He hadn't got far, when all of a sudden he felt something hit him in his back, causing a sharp and very painful sensation.

The next thing he knew he was laying flat on his stomach, with a feeling that he had just been wounded in war. Then he heard a voice of a very furious girl.

"Get away from my horse! How many times do I have to tell you! You have a hundred horses of your own and still you think you have all the right in the world to steal mine!" she yelled as she made her way to the somewhat wounded king.

Edmund got up and turned to face her, he was never so angry in his entire life. The girl was still continuing her ranting, when all of a sudden she stopped in mid sentence.

"Oh, your not my brother, are you?" she said with a horrified look on her face. Now it was Edmund's turn to rant.

"No, I'm not your brother!" he yelled. "Why would I be stealing your horse, when I have a perfectly good one at home, not to mention one that can **talk**? Furthermore, if it's your horse, why isn't it with you?" he finished.

By now, the young girl looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry!" she sobbed pathetically. "Really, I am! It's just that my brothers are constantly taking my horse when I'm not looking and this time I had just had it and…I'm just so sorry!" she cried.

Edmund suddenly felt a wave of sympathy wash over him. He didn't blame the girl now for being angry and was now sorry for yelling at her.

He took a good look at her. She was a nice looking girl, although he had seen better. She had dark brown hair and soft brown eyes that usually looked like they were happy, but were now filled with tears.

Around her neck, she was wearing a small silver locket.

"Don't cry," he said as he handed her the reigns. "Just don't be so well…physical the next time, alright?" he said kindly."

She smiled through her tears and took the reigns to her horse.

"Thank you," she said. "And… I really am sorry."

"It's alright," Edmund said. "What was that that you threw at me?"

"A bag of seashells, I collect them all the time," she answered.

"Well, I'll know what to throw the next time someone tries to steal my horse," Edmund said playfully.

The girl laughed softly and then was about to turn to leave, when suddenly she asked,

"Do you really have a talking horse?"

Edmund grinned and then answered, "Yes, I really do have a talking horse."

She smiled contentedly and then looked to the sky.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "It's almost seven o' clock! I'm going to be late at the palace!"

"Do you work there?" Edmund said.

"I guess you can say that I do," she said as she mounted her horse. "Good-by," she said and rode off.

"_I had better start making my way back to the palace too,"_ he thought.

His back stilled registered a deep pain, but it seemed to have softened a little bit as he walked back to the castle.

* * *

Edmund grabbed his crown off his bedside table and tried to put it on correctly in the mirror. He had just got done changing for supper and was making sure he looked somewhat like a king, before he when downstairs to meet the family.

That was always the most nerve-wracking part for him, meeting the family. Especially since, they had children that were his age.

"_Oh well, good enough,"_ he thought as he pulled on his ceremonial cloak and headed out the door.

Lucy was waiting for him at the top of the stairs, dressed in an elegant dark blue gown and her own silver crown rested on top of her head. She too, looked a little nervous.

"This is our first ceremonial banquet without Peter or Susan," she said.

"Well, I guess we had better get on with it then," Edmund said calmly and together they climbed down the stairs.

When they reached the bottom, a servant came out of the main dining hall and greeted them.

"The family is ready," he informed them.

"Then take us in," said Edmund.

The servant made a gesture for the doors to open and the siblings took a deep breath.

Once the doors were opened, Edmund and Lucy beheld a magnificent feast that was set at several glorious tables.

The royal family was standing in front of the main dining table at the end of the room.

The servant introduced them in a loud proclaiming voice that Edmund usually thought was unnecessary.

Edmund and Lucy walked down the carpeted floor and took glances at the elegantly decorated room. When they reached the royal table, the family all made a line and bowed graciously to them. They in return bowed and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I would now like you to meet my family," said King Christian.

"Oh, wait," said Edmund. "Earlier today, I seemed to have scared the wits out of one of your servant girls. She thought I was her older brother trying to steal her horse."

"Really, well I find that highly amusing!" said Christian good-naturedly.

"I just hope I didn't make her late on my account," said Edmund.

"Don't worry about it; she probably deserved the break from the chores anyway," he said casually

Edmund already had a deep respect for this king, but now it grew deeper knowing that he cared for his servants.

"Now my children," he said and began to go through and name them."Halina, Sergei, Nikolous, and the twins, Annelise and Erik," he rounded off.

Edmund and Lucy went through and greeted all of them.

Halina was a pretty, fair-haired girl who was around Peter's age. Sergei was tall and dark haired and handsome; he was also the crown prince. Nikolous was next and had a mischievous and fun loving character. When they came to Annelise, she shyly bowed and kept her head down.

"She's very shy when it comes to meeting people," explained Queen Maria.

Lucy gave her a sympathetic smile and then they continued. Erik was the last one and

seemed he seemed destined to get out as soon as possible.

When they were all through, King Christian declared it time to eat.

Everybody started to take his or her place at the table, when Edmund suddenly caught a glimpse of Annelise. She looked _very _familier.

He walked over to her and tried to catch her before she sat down.

"Have we met before?" he asked.

"No, Your Majesty," she said quickly.

She was about to leave when Edmund softly raised her face up to his and looked into her eyes. Those deep, soft, brown, eyes.

The eyes of the girl on the beach.

"It's you," he said. "You were the girl on the beach this afternoon."

When he had first seen her, she was wearing a simple green dress and her hair was in a braid. Now she was wearing a stunning burgundy red velvet gown and her hair was decorated with jewels and flowers, but her eyes remained the same and she was also wearing the exact same locket.

"Yes, it is me," she replied quietly. "I had no idea that you were a king, much less a guest in my father's house."

She looked like she was about to cry again.

"Well, I had no idea that you were a princess, much less the daughter of my host and hostess," Edmund said. "I won't tell anyone, I promise."

The young princess finally smiled with relief as she aloud Edmund to escort her to her chair.


	6. The Library

**Chapter Five. The Library**

After his first night in Terebinthia, Edmund didn't get to see much of Annelise. She and her brother did school at the palace and were taught by their mother (they did school in the summer and took time off in the fall), while he and Lucy did diplomatic duty, with King Christian and his older children.

The only time he did get to see her was when they were eating and even then he hardly got to talk to her, because she was very shy around new people, like her mother had said.

Then, on Saturday, the family took the Narnian royals on a picnic to one of Terebinthia's beautiful meadows. It was bright and sunny and everybody was in a cheerful mood.

After they were done eating everyone started to disperse across the meadows. Edmund manage to slip away and walked over to where a bunch of boulders were. He carefully climbed up and when he reached the top he could see glorious, rich, green hills rolling over the landscape.

It was all to wonderful. He sat down and just took it all in. Suddenly he heard a soft voice call out to him.

"King Edmund!" He turned around and saw Princess Annelise Elvenwood coming toward him. Her long brown hair flapped in the wind and in her hands she was carrying a small tin box.

"Here," she said as she handed the box to him. "These are some desserts that were overlooked. I hope you like them, they're my favorites."

He opened the box and saw some sweet looking cookies. He took a bite of one and had to admit they were quite good.

"These taste great," he said as took another one. Annelise looked relieved.

"That's good, because I made them," she said.

"Oh, I didn't know you could bake."

"I can't really," she admitted. "Those are the only things I know how to make. Either than that, I'm hopeless. My mother once banned me from the kitchen when I burned a batch of brownies. She wasn't very happy."

Edmund had to laugh and then said, "If it's any comfort to you, I don't know how to bake anything, so you're in higher class than me in that respect."

The young princess smiled shyly and looked out toward the hills.

"This is my favorite spot," she said softly.

"It is beautiful, like the rest of the country," Edmund said.

"No, it's not like the rest of the country. It's different, more peaceful, more secluded. It's my favorite place to read."

"You like to read?" asked Edmund.

Annelise nodded and then said, "Your sister tells me you're rather fond of reading too. If so, you're more than welcome to come into our library."

"You have a library?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure we do. I can take you to it know, if your not busy."

Edmund jumped down from the rocks and followed the princess back to where the family was.

"Mother, I'm going to show King Edmund the library. If thats alright."

"Of course, go right ahead," she said.

On their way down, Annelise slowly overcame her shyness and began to ask him questions about Narnia, the creatures, the land, and Peter and Susan. He answered them and then began to ask her about her schoolwork, her activities, and then finally her favorite books.

"Oh, there are far too many!" she exclaimed. "I'll show you when we get there."

They reached the palace and began to climb the stairs and walk through long hallways, until they finally reached the door to the library.

When Annelise opened the door, Edmund thought he had died and gone to Heaven. Hundreds of books lined hundreds of shelves all over the room.

There were also tables and comfortable chairs and candles to read by at night.

"This is much better than what we have back Narnia. Mr. Tumnus would die right on the spot!" he said as he began to walk between the rows of shelves.

"Who?" asked Annelise.

"Oh, Mr. Tumnus. He's our Chief of Court, Lord Regent, and is also in charge of the library," explained Edmund." He went on, "He's been trying to get as many books as possible for our library, but most Narnian books were destroyed by the White Witch, so it's really hard to gather some together."

" Oh him, My parents have told me about him before, " said Annelise fondly. "I would like to meet him one day."

"You two would get along very well," he said as picked up a book.

They went through the aisles and picked out all the books that caught their attention and Annelise showed him her favorite ones.

While going through, Edmund saw one book that looked interesting. He picked up and read the title, "_The Last Royals of Narnia."_

"This looks interesting," he said as he flipped throught it. It was filled with storys of the last royal family of Narnia, before the White Whitch took over. At the end of the book he read,

_"Sadly, the last of the Narnian royals died as a traitors to their country. The royal family had been in hiding ever since the White Witch had taken over Narnia. Marriages, births, and deaths were all secret._

_Prince Ulrik was only a baby when his father, Prince Thomaz , was captured by the White Witch. _

_He and his family had been hiding in a small shelter for years when she found them. They were then imprisoned by the White Witch and made to work as slaves._

_When his brave father died, as well as his mother who died of a fever, Prince Ulrik and his wife pledged their alligence to the White Witch. They then began to help the Witch capture those who were plotting against her and 'her kind.'_

_The Narnians began to fear them even more than the Witch. His and his family's deaths are unknown. We hope that they will face a judgement far greater than any horror that the Witch has done or will ever do._

"This is horrible," Edmund finally said. "How could anyone betray their own country to her?" Annelise didn't say anything. It apparently seemed to bother her.

Finally she said, "It is awful, but maybe he didn't have a choice?"

"Death is probably more preferable than serving her," Edmund said coldly. He saw her eyes began to fill with tears.

"I'm sorry. It's just...I was a traitor too and there are many time when I still think I should have died."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't," she said sweetly. Edmund smiled and they continued down the aisle.

"Did you like reading before you came to Narnia?" asked Annelise.

"Oh yes," Edmund answered. "My father was an absolute addict to books and he passed that love of reading on to my siblings and I. Before the war, he read to us every night."

"What kind of books did read?" Annelise asked.

Edmund thought for a moment and memories of being in his warm cozy home on 64 Dorset Ave. with no war, no bombs, no raids and most of all no fear, began to race through his mind

. It was just him, his siblings and his parents.

He remembered sitting close to his father as he read funny fairy tales, old ancient stories and myths, and animals from other countries. The memory of his father seemed to fill his heart with more sadness than happiness

. He didn't realize how much he truly missed him. Finally he answered Annelise.

"Just about any book he could get his hands on. My siblings and I would always fight over what books we wanted read to us and also who got to next to him when he read." he smiled at those far away memories.

_"Beavers of North America"_ was the last book he brought home, before he went to war."

"You must miss him," Annelise whispered. "I don't think I could manage living without my father for so long."

"I do," answered Edmund. "He left when I was eight. I would give anything in the world to hear his voice again. The older I get the more I seem to forget my life back in England and my parents."

"As long as you keep them in your heart, I don't think you'll ever forget them," said Annelise.

Edmund glanced at the young princess and for a brief moment he honestly felt that he was back in his father's safe home in England.


	7. The Allingham Prophecy

**Chapter Six. The Allingham Prophecy**

All good things come to an end. Or so Edmund thought as he tossed his last bag of belongings onto the Splendor Hyaline. He and Lucy were going home. Their week in Terebinthia had come to an end and they were leaving that day.

Edmund was rather sad to leave the beautiful country, but he was even more disappointed in saying good-by to the family, especially Annelise. He was just getting to know her, when all of sudden he realized that he was going to have to leave soon.

It went so fast, to fast. He pondered on this while he was packing.

When everything was set and they were ready to go, he Lucy started to say good-by.

They thanked the family for their kindness and hospitality and especially for the humor that they provided for them.

When Edmund finally made his way to Annelise, she shyly bowed to him respectfully and softly whispered a good-bye. Before he said good-by, there was one thing he needed to know though before he left.

"What's in your locket?" he asked, "I've been wanting to know for a long time."

"Oh, it's pictures of my grandparents, but I never knew them. I've only heard of them," she said as she opened up the locket and inside were two small portraits of young man on one side and a young woman on the other. They looked like nice people and had fine facial features. "These portraits were painted soon after they were married and the locket was a wedding gift to my grandmother from my grandfather," she explained.

"Why don't you put in pictures of your parents instead?" he asked

"I want to keep them close to me. Even though we never met, I feel like I know them by just looking at their pictures. I sometimes imagine what their lives were like when they were still alive. You see they died when my mother was very young, so she doesn't remember them. This locket was the only thing she had. "

"I'm sorry about that," said Edmund in sympathy.

"Thank you. She doesn't remember her life before she was adopted by my uncle. So it really isn't that much of a loss to her," Annelise said as she closed the locket.

Edmund was silent for a moment and then finally said "Well, good-by little princess. I must say, you have made my first stay in Terebinthia quite enjoyable."

She smiled at him, probably remembering the first time they met on the beach, realizing who they were at their first supper, and spending hours together in the library. He would miss her, very much.

* * *

Once they were back, Edmund and Lucy soon settled themselves back into their normal day to day routines in Narnia.

It was still hot (It was the beginning of June now), but that didn't seem to bother them as much as it use to. Peter and Susan were glad they were home and asked them about the family and the country.

They had never met the children either so there was plenty of questions about them. When they came to Annelise, Peter spoke up.

"Is she the younger daughter?" he asked.

"Yes," said Lucy "and she's wonderful. She and Ed got on really well."

"How old is she?" asked Mr. Tumnus who was also with them.

"She said she would be 15 on the twentieth of September," answered Edmund. "You would like her Tumnus. She's crazy about books and reading."

"Well, we all know that Edmund already likes her," said Lucy mischievously.

"No, I don't!" said the young king angrily. "I mean I like her as a friend, nothing more than that, Lucy!"

Lucy was about to open her mouth to say something else, when Susan said, "Thats enough. No more fighting." And put an end to it before it even began.

The subject was dropped, but Edmund was still miffed at what Lucy had said. Annelise was his friend. It was nothing more than that.

* * *

Several weeks later, Edmund and Peter were on their way to the library where Mr. Tumnus and the Beavers were sorting some books that they had gotten from their old houses.

The books were old and some Tumnus had written himself. The two brothers were about to walk in, when Mrs. Beaver was looking through the books and came across some names that were written in an old leather bound book.

"Look, Tumnus," she said excitedly, "there's Prince Thomaz, Princess Amaya, Prince Eldrin and oh, no-" She stopped suddenly.

"What is it?" said Beaver. Peter and Edmund didn't dare walk in, but leaned in as far as possible to hear.

"Princes Ulrik and Princess Tezhia," she said in a low whisper.

"Prince Ulrik!" Edmund said suddenly, but as quietly as possible.

"You've heard of him?" whispered Peter.

"I read about him while I was in Terebinthia."

"Their names are to never be spoken of," said Tumnus immediately to the Beavers. He didn't know that the two kings were behind him in the doorway. "Not even amongst yourselves. Do you understand?" he said sharply, his blue eyes blazed with a burning anger that Edmund had never seen before.

"Of course we won't, Tumnus," said Mr. Beaver, "you know us better than that."

"I know that, but no one is to know. Especially, the royal family. Not now at least."

"Not even them!" cried Mrs. Beaver in disbelief. "Why ever not?"

"Because if they find out from the wrong sources about what happened during the White Witch's reign, then everything that we have tried to rebuild will be destroyed. They must be told when the time is right and now is not the time."

"Tumnus, nobody and I mean nobody knows as much as we do about what happened," said Mr. Beaver quietly. "We were there! And we know that everything you had ever loved was taken away from you, but you cannot dismiss it as it it never happened!"

"It almost destroyed me though!" cried Tumnus "to watch the ones that I love die why I lived! To watch innocent people suffer at her hands! I wanted to die as well!" He sat down on one of the chairs and let his anger vent.

This was a side to Tumnus that neither Peter nor Edmund had ever seen.  
"Oh, Tumnus!" said Mrs. Beaver soothingly, "it made you strong was a reason for you to live. And you cannot forget that."

"But can I forget the past? I still feel guilty for those I could not save!"

"Then feel proud for those you did save and are alive today because of you," said Mr. Beaver. Tumnus finally calmed down and then said, "King Edmund was asking about Prince Ulrik the other day. He said that he read about him in Terebinthia."

"Oh, dear," said Mrs. Beaver.

"Yes, what he has read is all he needs to know. All any of them need to know, for now at least."

"Good," said Mr. Beaver.

"Yet, there is a secret across the sea that must remain a secret. No matter what," warned Tumnus.

"Then what about this?" asked Mrs. Beaver as she gave Tumnus a piece of paper that she had found in the book. He read it over silently and then said, "We don't know if it will ever happen, but if it does, then will be the time to tell."

He walked over to one of the bookshelves, folded the piece of paper, and slid in between the boards of the book shelf. Then they went on to sorting the books.

Peter and Edmund ran of the hallway and came to a room where they could talk privately.

"Who is Prince Ulrik?" said Peter.

"He was the last royal of Narnia, before we came along. He was a traitor too and he helped the White Witch until the day he died," Edmund explained.

"That's horrible," Peter said.

"I know. What I really want to know though was what was on that piece of paper."

"We can find out tonight. After everybody has gone to bed," Peter said, "don't tell the girls any of this." Edmund nodded and now he could only wait.

Night time finally came. Edmund met Peter outside his bedroom and quietly they made their way down to the library. It was dark and eerie and their two candles' barely made enough light to go around the room.

"Do you remember which bookshelf it was?" asked Edmund.

"I think so," said Peter. He walked over to one and held his candle close to the board.

"This is it!" he said. He then took a small knife from his pocket and giving his candle to Edmund, he carefully began to pry out the piece of paper. When he got it out, he opened it up and laid it down on the table for them both to read. It read:

_When Adam's Flesh and Adam's Bone  
Unite with King Frank's and Queen Helen's own,  
The evil curse will shatter and crash  
And Allingham's true light will shine at last._

"What does it mean?" asked Edmund.

"I don't know," said Peter. The only person, who can explain it, is trying to hide it from us."

"Do you think Tumnus will ever tell us?"

"I don't know," said Peter. "All I know, is that now, we have to wait for the right time for him tell us. That is all we can do."


	8. Philip's Warning

**Chapter Seven. Philip's Warning**

_Thursday, July 11, 1006__  
_

_"__Dear Edmund,  
_

_Oh, maybe I should I call you King Edmund? Well, whichever is proper, I'm glad to finally be able to write to you. _

_I'm doing quite fine here. _

_My school is still the same and I'm enjoying every minute of it (much to my brother's annoyance), but September seems an eternity away. _

_If I'm lucky, Mamma might let us off for your brother's birthday celebration in August, but I'm not hoping for much. _

_I'm graduating next year and I need to get as much studying done as I can. _

_Oh, by the way, Halina is engaged. She'll be marring an old friend of hers in September. They announced the engagement yesterday, so I'm not sure if you had heard or not. _

_She's so happy. I've never seen her like this before. I'm happy for her too, but at the same time I don't want her to go. _

_Oh, she'll be staying in Terebinthia. Pappa is getting her and her beloved a small home about five miles away from the palace. _

_She says it's great, because she's close enough to her family, but she'll still have her privacy. _

_At least this will mean I'll finally have the room to myself, but I'm afraid it'll get awfully lonely from time to time._

_Especially with me being only girl at home. _

_Mamma is overjoyed, but like me, is having a hard time, because Halina is the oldest and this is the first child that'll be given away. _

_We keep on reminding her that there are four more children at home, but still I see tears well up in her eyes whenever she sees Halina. _

_Don't get me wrong, the man she's marrying is a great man. We've known his family for years and his sister is my best friend. _

_It'll just be hard, because we are a really tight family. _

_Erik says that if he marries a queen, he'll be able to become King and do what ever he wants and won't have to take orders from Sergei when he comes to the throne. _

_I can see trouble with that proposition. _

_Well anyway, I had better get back to school. Thank you for your lovely letter about Narnia and I'll write back to you as soon as I can.  
_

_Love, _

_Annelise Camilla Elizabeth Elvenwood__  
_

Edmund folded up the letter and leaned his head against the wall of the stable. So he might be able to see Annelise not once, but maybe twice in two months.

He smiled to himself as he scanned over the letter again.

"If I knew any better, I would have thought that somebody told you where to find gold in that letter," Philip said.

"Maybe I have, Philip," Edmund said softly.

"Well, from what Lucy has already told me, you and the Elvenwood princess have become rather good friends. And now from what I've just witnessed, it seems to be true.

"And if I seem to remember, Philip, you also becoming quite good friends with Aravis's former horse, Hwin, when we were in Archanland last year. Is that not also true?

"Alright, alright," groaned Philip, "I know, it's none of my business, but you can't blame some of us for wondering at the way you've been behaving.

"Behaving like what?" asked Edmund defensively.

"Well, for one thing, you're quieter and you seem to be daydreaming way more than usual, it's just not like you Edmund. It's out of the ordinary."

"You want to talk about out of the ordinary; you should have seen Tumnus about a month ago. I've never seen him so angry in my entire life!"

"Oh, you mean about Ulrik and Tezhia," said Philip.

"Well yes, but how did you know? Tumnus made it very clear that only he and the Beavers were to know."

"He told me. He knows that you and your brother were outside the library when the whole ordeal went on and he's just trying to protect you and your family. Listen; there are memories and agonies that still have not been healed.

It was a terrifying time, Edmund. And many of us still cannot let go of the past and the horrors that we had to witness. Even though we now know we're safe. Tumnus has suffered more than most of us. So please, keep this topic to yourself. It's incredibly painful to him."

"I promise," said Edmund, "But what is all of this about if we find out from the wrong sources that the monarchy will be destroyed?"

"Not necessarily destroyed, but it could cause problems within the country. Be careful young King. Of what you read, what you hear, and most of all, of whom you befriend."

Edmund promised, but he was now more confused then ever. He looked at the letter in his hand.

_Of whom you befriend. There is a secret across the sea that must remain a secret._

It didn't make sense. Nothing did anymore.


	9. The High King's Birthday

**Chapter Eight. The High King's Birthday**

"I'm warning you Aravis! I'm getting sick and tired of your whining about everything! I've had to listen to it for three days!"

"Oh! You're tired of my whining? Well, I am over your complaining about my whining! And if I whine, it's usually for a good reason, because it's almost always about YOU, Cor!"

"Now that we have…. _finally _made to Narnia..._alive, _can you two at least...pretend to get along?" pleaded Corin to his brother and friend.

Edmund tried hard not to laugh as he descended down the stairwell that led into the large entry hallway where guests were beginning to arrive for Peter's twenty-first birthday.

The Archenland royals had obviously just arrived and the three youngest were making sure that everybody knew.

"King Edmund! said Aravis in delight as she saw him coming down the stairs, "it's so good to see you again!"

"And it's so good to hear all three of you again too," said Edmund as the trio all turned red in shame.

"Sorry, we just a little disagreement, but it's all taken care of now. Isn't it?" said Corin as he glared at the other two.

"Yes," they both answered together. Edmund didn't feel bad at all. Their fighting over the most ridiculous things he actually found quite humorous. He wasn't going to tell them that though. It would spoil the entertainment. So he quickly changed the subject.

"I'll get Polya to show you to your rooms." He called to a pretty young nymph who was a maid at Cair Paravel.

"Do we have to put up with their bickering all week long?" Polya asked Edmund as the three children gathered their stuff together.

"They're not that bad," he said,

"They're just in a new place, that's all. Anyway, it's character building. In case you want to have children later on in life. Polya gave him an understanding look and led the children up the stairs and into the royal guest apartments.

Edmund was following them up when he heard Lucy's excited voice calling him from outside.

"Edmund! The Elvenwoods are here!" And Edmund quickly changed his mind on where he wanted to go.

* * *

"Annelise and Erik couldn't come. They had school, but they sent Peter a gift anyway," explained Sergei as he walked up to the palace with his family.

"That's a shame," said Lucy, "They've never been to Narnia, have they?"

"No, but they'll get their chance," Sergei said, "We weren't even sure if Halina was going to come. She's so busy planning her wedding now. Oh, you did here that she's getting married?"

"Annelise wrote to me and told me," said Edmund as they walked into the castle.

"Oh, so you were personally told," said Sergei giving his rucksack to waiting servant.

Edmund nodded. He still felt really bad that that Annelise and Erik couldn't come.

But before anybody could notice his disappointment, Peter and Susan came out to greet the family.

"I'm so happy that you could come," said Susan graciously to Queen Maria.

"Thank you for inviting us and I'm sorry my younger two couldn't come, but their graduating next year and so they need to get all the studying they can."

"They're graduating together?"said Edmund, "Oh wait, I forgot. They're twins."

"That's alright; a lot of people forget that they're twins. I guess it's because they're so different from one another," said King Christian.

"Well, tell them that they'll be missed," said Peter, "And on a slightly happier note, congratulations to you, Halina!"

"Thank you so much! she said happily, "You are all invited and I can't wait for him to meet you."

"Do you have a ring?" asked Lucy. And that launched the women into a full blown detail of the wedding.

"Oh, fun fun," groaned Nikolous to his brother and Edmund.

"Come on," Edmund laughed, "I'll show you two to your rooms.

He was about to leave with them, when he saw Peter motioned to him with his head to follow him and King Christian into an empty room.

"I'll be right back," he said to the two Princes and followed his brother and the King. \

When they were inside, Peter explained their secret meeting.

"Tell your daughter thank you for her invitation, but I'm afraid that I won't be able to attend."

"What? Why not?" asked Edmund in disbelief. It wasn't like Peter to miss out on a party.

"Because there are some problems going on in with the wild minatours of Ettinsmore and I have to leave as soon as possible and settle things, before it starts into a battle or even worse a war," he said.

He tried to remain calm, but in his face he was truly frightened and that _never _happened with Peter.

"If things are really that bad, I can always send in men from my army," offered King Christian.

"No, I don't want to bring your country into this. Things may be settle now, but Lord Alton (the ruler of Ettinsmore) is afraid that things could turn to turmoil overnight.

He said that he would write to me in case anything goes wrong, so I'm expecting a letter from him any day now." said Peter.

Edmund felt a sick feeling in his stomach. If Peter went to war, that meant he might have to go in with him.

"Listen," Peter said turning to his brother, "if that does happen and things do get bad up there while I'm gone, I want you to send Orieus and about three-thousand of our troops up there."

"Don't you want me to come too?" asked Edmund.

"No, as the next in line, your place is with the people. And I may be gone more than a month, so the country will need you more than ever then."

"Do the girls know?

"Susan does, but not Lucy. I'll tell her. When the time comes.

_"When the time comes. More secrets," _thought Edmund as he and Peter and King Christian left the secret meeting.

* * *

The birthday celebration was so wonderful that Edmund almost forgot about Peter leaving. About 150 guests from Narnia and other countries had been invited.

The feasting and the celebrating could make anybody forget their worries.

After all, August 14 (Peter's birthday) was one of the most important days in Narnia and the days leading up to it got better and better.

When the Archenland trio began to get comfortable with their surroundings there was less fighting to, everyone's relief.

Aravis spent almost all her time with Lucy and several other girls around her age, while Susan and Halina talked about stuff that older sisters usually talked about.

Cor and Corin, along with the Elvenwood brothers, spent most of their time with Edmund. He showed them around the palace and took them to the stables where he introduced him to Philip."

"Anee is going to kill us when she finds out that we got to converse with a talking horse," said Nikolous as he gave Philip some oats.

"While I was in Terebinthia, she seemed quite interested in seeing a talking horse," Edmund said.

"There's nothing really that interesting," said Philip dryly, "We're just the same as any other horses only we... we...uh-"

"Can voice your opinion on what you really think of your master?" said Edmund a little slyly.

"Well, there goes six years of friendship shot to the underworld!" snapped Philip.

"He's always like this when there are strangers around," he explained, but he and Philip were usually like that all the time.

They were such good friends that they messed with each other whenever they got the opportunity.

Edmund knew that his horse wasn't angry and he also knew that Philip was going to pay him back when he least expected it.

"What time is it?" asked Cor.

"I don't know, but I'm starving," said Sergei.

"Well, let's go inside," said Edmund, "it's almost time to eat anyway."

"Good-bye Philip, it was nice seeing you again," said Corin as they all began to leave the stables. Before Edmund left, Philip gave him his typical dry glare that told him to watch out the next time he saw him. Edmund returned it, but both master and horse had a devil of a time keeping the whole thing straight without laughing.

* * *

Later that night the men and the women had split off into different sides of the castle. Peter, Edmund, Tumnus, Mr. Beaver, King Lune, King Christian, Sergei, Nikolous, and several other men and boys were gathered in Peter's bedroom talking, when Cor came in looking quite disgruntled.

"What's wrong with you?" asked his father.

"That girl is an outright witch!" he growled as he tossed his cloak onto a chair.

"Three guesses who it is?" called out Nikolous. They all laughed except Cor.

"What is it that you constantly have against her?" said Peter handing the boy some wine.

"It's not me! It's her!" he griped, "She's the spoiled brat that thinks nothing is ever good enough for her, nobody can ever imagine the life that I have had to live, I've gone through so much heartache and pain, and somebody please do something with that prince before I go insane. This ever weary little princess routine. I'm done with it!" he said as he gulped down his wine."

"Wow, you have that girl pegged alright," said Beaver.

"Well, what she's saying is partly true. She has had a hard life with her family and she's still adjusting to this one," said King Lune to his son, "After all you did say you would have liked for her to live with us."

"Thanks for your help father," he said angrily, "But I swear by Aslan's mane if I knew she was going to this aggravating, I would have-" before he could finish his brother came in looking equally unhappy.

"Now, what's wrong with you?" asked Edmund.

"I've just had the worst experience of my life!" he said tearfully.

"What happened?" growled his brother as he handed him his wine. Corin took a drink and then began.

"I was in my way up here, when I ran into...Queen Susan." Peter and Edmund both exchanged glances.

Corin continued. "She was sitting on one of the couches talking with some of the little children. She said hello to me and I said hello back. Well, when I had my back turned to her I heard her say, "You are so cute." I turned around in disbelief thinking that this was the best day of my life." he stopped.

"Alright, so why is that such an awful experience?" asked Sergei.

Corin took a deep breath and then said, "When I turned around, I find out she was talking...to one of the babies. No one could help it now. Everyone, even Cor, began to laugh.

"It's not funny," griped Corin.

"Yes it is!" said his brother. "I thought my problems with girls were bad. Yours are worse!"

"Boys," said their father, "I will be the happiest man alive if I can marry you two off to two women who aren't afraid to spend eternity with you."

"Thanks," they grumbled in unison. At that moment, Oreius had come into the room with several other centaurs.

"If you don't mind," he said to Peter, "we need to spirit you away for a while and every other male who is twenty-one and over."

"Why? Where are you taking me?" Peter asked apprehensively.

"Just a coming of age Narnia ritual. Thats all," said Tumnus with a devilish grin.

"There's no getting out of this one," Beaver said excitedly, "You have to do it!"

"Why do you have to be twenty-one and over?" asked Sergei as they began to leave, "I turn twenty-one next year!"

"Sorry, those are the rules," said King Lune. Everyone twenty-one and over left the room leaving only Edmund, Cor, Corin, Sergei, and Nikolous.

"Well, that's not fair!" shouted Corin as the door closed.

"And the sad thing is you don't find out what this ritual is until your twenty-one," explained Nikolous. They all sat back down feeling quite digruntled, when they heard laughing and giggling on the floor above them.

The women were clearly in Susan's room now.

"I'd love to know what do up there sometimes," said Cor.

Edmund thought for a moment, considered about what he was about to say and then said, "We could always find out."

"Absolutely!" said Sergei jumping up followed by his brother.

"Might as well," said the twins together as they followed Edmund to the secret passage that led to Susan's room.


	10. The Last Gift

**Chapter Nine. The Last Gift**

Snow fell silently from the dark sky and glistened in the soft glow of the moonlight. It fell onto Edmund's face and scattered throughout his messy hair. One side of his face was dripping with blood and his entire body was racked with pain. His head was pounding and throbbing so badly, he dare not open his eyes. Memories began to flood into his mind, but were they memories or dreams?

_"Remember, no one comes into the country and no one comes out."_

Peter. He saw his brother on his horse about to leave. Leave for where?

_"Sometimes the love for a child will make a person, especially a parent, do things they might not otherwise do."_

Annelise. When was the last time he had seen her? And what was she talking about?

_"Edmund! Be careful!"_

Philip. Be careful of what?

"Philip?" he groaned gently. He didn't know if he was alive or dead. Were these thoughts only dreams? Or memories of what had already past? He could barely open his eyes, the pain in his head and face was so bad. Then he heard another voice. A kind gentle voice that sounded like an old man.

"What are you doing all the way down here, boy?"

The next thing he knew, something warm was being poured into his mouth. Whatever that liquid was, it went rushing right into his head, dulling the pain and causing him to become sleepy again. Before he blacked out entirely, he heard the voice of the old man say, "Sleep for now. For only in the dreams of your memories, will you find your answers."

* * *

"This is a time to show our bravery, Lucy. Not our tears," said Susan gently as she put her arm around her weeping sister.

"Peter is going to war and your acting like that's a good thing!" Lucy said is a hard tone. Edmund was only half listening to his sister's argument, as he watched his brother ride through the gates that led out of Cair Paravel.

Peter **was** going to war, in Ettinsmoor. The letter had come five days after the guests for his birthday party had was pleading him for help and he knew he had no time to lose.

Within three hours, he had Oreius align four-thousand soldiers to take to war, he had sent letters to all of the other countries saying that Narnia was at war with Ettinsmoor and all diplomatic functions were canceled until further notice.

He managed to give instructions to his three siblings in less than twenty minutes and was packed and ready to go in ten. It was almost as if he was preparing for the entire thing, before it even began.

"Remember, no one comes into the country and nobody goes out," Peter had said to his brother as he was saying good-bye to everyone on the castle steps.

Edmund nodded, unable to reply. In a way, he was now the high king and felt totally unprepared for the task that lay in front of him.

"What about the wedding in Terebinthia?" he asked hesitantly, "Susan and Lucy desperately wanted to go." He wanted to go as well, but he kept that to himself.

"That should be fine, but just get out as soon as possible." Peter then took off his signet ring that signified him as high king and gave it to Edmund, "Narnia is now your life and all that lives within it. The country will be looking to you now and I know that you will not fail me," he said as he gave him his ring. "Promise me."

"Alright," was all Edmund could say. With no other instructions to give, Peter gave his brother a hug and then left to say good-bye to his sisters.

"Be careful and be safe," said Susan trying to hold back her own tears.

"I will," he promised.

Lucy had been in the back with her head down so no one there could see the tears that their "Daisy Princess" cried. Peter walked over to her, hugged her, and then whispered something to her that brought a brief smile to her face.

Then he mounted his horse and gave instructions to Oreius to assign the troops. While that was going on, Susan walked up to him and gave him his sword, _Rhindon. _

"I hope you don't have to use it any more than you need to," she said.

"So do I," he said as he hooked the sword onto his belt. And then he left, but before he rode through the gate he looked briefly behind his shoulder at as his siblings one last time, hoping that this wouldn't be the last time.

_"Promise me."_ Edmund heard his words again. He looked down at the gold ring his brother had given him. Would he be able to keep such a promise?

_**

* * *

**__**TM **__**King Christian and Queen Maria joyfully request the honor your presence**_

_**To celebrate the marriage of their daughter**_

_**HRH **__**Princess Halina Jacqueline Maria Elvenwood **__**to**_

_**Demetrius Alessandro Halabin on**_

_**Friday, November 12, 1006 at Eyra Caladrin.**_

_**The ceremony will be held at four o' clock with a reception afterwards.**_

_**THE KINGDOM OF TERBINTHIA**_

_"A Light Shines In the Darkness"_

* * *

The wedding proved to be a good thing for them to go to. Halina was radiant and her groom couldn't keep his eyes off of her through out the entire ceremony. There were tears that were shed on both sides.

King Christian and Queen Maria had a hard time keeping back their own while the vows were said and it was actually Annelise who cried the most. Right in the middle of the ceremony, her mother put her arm around her and rocked her gently in her chair. She managed to find Edmund in the large crowd and give him a small smile through her tears.

At the reception, there was so much food and dancing and laughing, that you almost forgot the sadness you had hours before. Edmund at least thought so as he sat out on one of the open air decks (Terebinthia is an island and its weather is like summer time all year around) watching the waves on the beach.

"Here, you didn't eat very much at supper," Edmund turned around to see Annelise giving him a gold goblet filled with wine.

Her face was tear-stained, but now held a soft, gentle joy in it. She had changed and grown a lot in seven months.

At now 15, she seemed much older and much more mature. She was still quiet and shy around strangers, but was becoming much more confident in talking to new people.

Annelise didn't have that stunning beauty that her sister or Susan or even Aravis had, but there was a certain simple beauty and pure innocence about her that seemed to reach out to everyone she met. It reminded Edmund a lot of Lucy actually.

"You've changed and grown so much," he said as she took a seat across from him.

"So have you," she replied. And that was true. In the three months that Peter had been away, Edmund had gotten a glimpse of what the life of a high king was like and it was beginning to show. He rarely ate and got little to no sleep.

Susan and Lucy worried about him constantly. Only Tumnus was strong enough to get him through the rough months.

"Being high king must be taking its toll on you," said Annelise.

"Yes," Edmund answered as he took a drink of wine, "but I'm getting through." She smiled graciously at him and then said, "Was the wedding a good break for you or did it make you miss your brother even more?"

He thought for a second and then said, "Both, I guess. We haven't gotten a letter from Peter in almost two weeks and we were getting a letter from him every week, but every time he did write to us, it was usually bad news."

"So, I'm supposing that no news is good news?" giggled Annelise.

"Suppose so," said Edmund as he took another drink of wine, "Your sister seems very happy."

"Oh, she is! The happiest I've ever seen her. She says they want a baby by their first anniversary."

"The greatest product love can produce," Edmund said, "It's amazing what love can really do to a person, especially the love for a child.

"Sometimes the love of a child will make people, especially parents, do things they might not otherwise do," Annelise said although Edmund had the strangest feeling she wasn't talking to him. Before he could answer, he could hear one of his sisters.

"Oh Ed, there you are," came Lucy's voice. She came out onto the deck and handed a plate of food to Annelise.

"That better not be a cucumber," said Edmund picking up a sliced green vegetable.

"It's not," said Annelise, "It's zucchini, but what's wrong with cucumber?"

"All four of us are highly allergic to it," explained Lucy, "So we can't have anything that has cucumber in it or it will get pretty bad."

"I'll remember that," said Annelise.

"Ed, do you know that the Halabin's have seven more sons?" Lucy said as she took a bite of zucchini.

"Really," said Edmund with an air of no interest.

"Not just seven more sons," said Annelise, "but they have four daughters as well."

"That's twelve children all together!" said Lucy in amazement. "I want to have twelve children."

"Do you have to do something before that can happen?" Edmund asked a little slyly.

"I know that! Marriage is just one of those things that come without saying!" Lucy said pretending to be irritated.

"Well, I'm your brother! I need to hear it!"

Lucy then changed the subject in asking Annelise, "What are the names of his sisters?"

"Elaine, Olivia, Anna and Celeste," she answered.

"Did somebody call me?" came the voice of a tall blonde haired girl who came out onto the deck carrying a silver tin in her hands.

"Oh, Celeste, I was just telling them your name, that's all," explained Annelise. She introduced her to Edmund and Lucy, and they in return began to enjoy her company.

"Anee, look what Halina had made especially for us," Celeste said giving her the silver tin.

"Turkish delight!" cried Annelise as she opened it.

"Would you like some?" she offered Edmund.

"No thank you. I'm good," he said quickly, his stomach beginning to churn as if he had lost his appetite all of a sudden.

"If you won't, I will," said Lucy, "I haven't had this since I was six!"

The wedding came to an end and it was time to say goodbye. Edmund, Susan, and Lucy waved good-bye to the Elvenwoods and the Halabins. Edmund looked up and saw Annelise with Celeste and her sisters waving down at him. He smiled at them, but that smile was for only one of those girls.

* * *

The November weeks turned to December and still no letter from Peter. They continued on with the Christmas celebrations, but there was still a small sadness in the hearts of the Narnians in knowing that their young, handsome, high king was not there to celebrate it with them.

It was one more week till Christmas. Edmund counted the days on his calendar and wrapped his blanket around his shoulders. Even though there was a warm fire, it was still cold and drafty in his room, especially at night. The wind was beating against his window and snow was beginning to swirl around outside.

_"Looks like another snowstorm,"_ he thought. He was about to get undressed, when Beaver suddenly stormed into his room.

"One of the foals has escaped from the stables and no one can find him!" Before Beaver could finish, Edmund grabbed his cloak and raced out of the room and into the main hallway.

"I know he's not going to like this, but I'm going to saddle up Philip and find that foal. Can you explain to Tumnus for me?" Beaver nodded and before Edmund went outside he said, "That foal is Philip's son."

"Are sure we're going to find him in all this?" questioned Philip as Edmund saddled him.

"No, I'm not sure," he said honestly, "but somebody told me that the love of a child would make a parent do things they might not otherwise do."

"Whoever knows something like that, must be a wonderful parent indeed," said Philip.

"Well, she could be, but she's only 15," Edmund said as he mounted his horse.

They rode out into the raging snow storm searching for hours for the lost foal. They called out his name, but the only reply they got was the sound of the wind. They soon came on top of a cliff and began to look. Edmund looked down to only see the bottom of a gorge. He turned around to walk back to his horse when suddenly he was hit by a massive gust of wind.

"Edmund! Be careful!" was the last thing he heard.

"You need to wake up. You're almost home," came that gentle voice again. Edmund slowly opened his eyes to see a beautiful white landscape that was calm and silent and peaceful. It was hard for him to imagine it was a storm the night before.

He was wrapped up in a heavy warm blanket and was being driven around in a sled pulled by four white reindeer. The driver was an old man that had a long white beard and was dressed in burgundy red clothes. He seemed to have a cheerful demeanor that made Edmund relax. In the back of the sled was a leather sack that took up the entire back seat and that also got him into wondering.

"Are you...Father Christmas?" he asked the old man.

"I sure am," he answered, "And you, I take, are King Edmund the Just of The Great Western Woods? The only Pevensie that I haven't met."

"Yes," said Edmund slowly for he knew why he hadn't been there. Father Christmas seemed to read his mind.

"You need not dwell on things that have already passed," he said wisely. Edmund nodded, but then he asked," How did you find me?"

"Your horse told me that you were helping him look for his son, when powerful winds just seem to blow you away into the gorge. I've never seen an animal so hell-bent on his master than that horse was. I told him to go find his son and that I would take care of you.

It took some persuasion, but finally he relented. When I found you, one side of your head was bleeding and you have some scratches, but that's just about it. You must be in pretty good shape to be able to withstand a fall that high."

"That comes from constant physical activity," Edmund said, "But it was still painful when I woke up the first time."

"Oh, I'm sure it was," said Father Christmas as they pulled over into a small clearing near a few trees, "I told your horse that when he found his son that he was to meet me here. And I guess while we wait, I have something to give you."

"An early Christmas present?"

"Oh, no. More like a belated six-almost-seven year Christmas present," said Father Christmas as he got out of the sled and looked inside his bag.

_"Six-almost-seven year-"_ Edmund stopped.

"Wait, when you gave my siblings their gifts, you had mine all along? Didn't you?"

"Of course I did, but you did not get it because you were not ready for it."

"I always thought, I didn't get it because I wasn't there," argued Edmund.

"You are much mistaken then. You were not there because you were not ready to receive it, but now you are," he said and gave the young king his gift.

It was a leather book that was dark red and had gold gilded right onto it. It had the insignia of a lion on the front and on the spine were the letter E.P. Edmund's initials.

"Thank you, sir," he said. It was the most beautiful book he had ever seen. When he opened it up, there were only blank pages.

"Is it a journal?" he asked.

"Yes, it can be," said Father Christmas.

"Hold on," said Edmund suddenly, "All my siblings, even Lucy, got weapons. And I get a journal! What's up with that?" he asked in disbelief.

"Not all wars are won with weapons. Many have been won with words. You have a gift for words and I guarantee you that whatever you write in that book, may one day many years from now save your country."

"What do I write then?" asked Edmund.

"The words will come to you. Now this book is not like most books. It will end when its time comes for it to end, so choose wisely what you write."

"If it's supposed to save my country, I might as well write how I came into the country. Something of a memoir for my children, I guess."

"Well, there's where you need to start then," said Father Christmas. Suddenly there was some rustling in the trees and out came Philip and his son, Caspin.

"Your safe!" cried Philip when he saw his master.

"And you finally found your son!" Edmund said.

"Yes, we had a little talk about him running off," Philip said looking sternly down at his son, but soon softened at Caspin's innocent face.

"Thank you," he said turning to Father Christmas, "This country has already had enough with one king being away. I don't know what would have happened had not I run into you."

"You're welcome. And speaking of that other king, I do have an early Christmas present for you Your Majesty and for your sisters as well," he said and pulled out a letter from his pocket.

"It's Peter's letter!" said Edmund in amazement. He was going to ask how Father Christmas got the letter and then decided not to.

"Well, I had better get going. It's only four more days! Merry Christmas!" said Father Christmas .

Philip, Edmund and Caspin all said Merry Christmas and waved good-bye until he was no longer in sight. Edmund walked beside his horse and told him and his son about the book.

"If you're going to make it a book of memories for your children, you may need to gave it a title," said Philip.

"It's just a collection of stories of my life since I came into Narnia," Edmund said, "So...how does The Chronicles of Narnia sound?"

"Oooo! I like it!" said Caspin

"Simple, yet to the point," replied Philip.

"Well then I guess that's it then. The Chronicles of Narnia," Edmund repeated as they walked back home.

_

* * *

__December 18, 1006,_

_Dear Susan, Edmund, and Lucy,_

_I hope you all are having a better Christmas then I am! Don't worry about me though, I'm doing fine. I hope this letter might bring you some kind of comfort, considering the fact that I can't write a lot about what's going on. Have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. I love and miss you all so much!_

_Love Peter_


	11. An Audience with The King

**Chapter Ten. An Audience with The King**

Annelise leaned on the railing of the _Splendor Hyaline_ to get a better look at the country they were approaching. It was Narnia. The land she had heard about so much was now only a matter of miles away from her. She closed her eyes for a brief second and felt the cool wind lap onto her face.

It was exactly one year ago that Edmund and Lucy had set sail to Terebinthia from Narnia. And now she would finally be able to see their home.

Somehow, Lucy had persuaded Edmund to let Annelise Elvenwood come and visit them for a week.

After nine months, Peter had still not come home. The war in Ettinmoor was over, but he still sent no word of coming home. And since nothing had really happened in Narnia for nine months, Lucy thought it would be alright to invite someone.

Annelise had just graduated from school and the one thing she wanted was to go to Narnia. Now here she was, only a few hours away until she reached her destination.

"What time will it be when we get here?" she asked the captain.

"Oh, well after dark," he replied, "But Narnia is still lovely after dark."

"So I've heard," said Annelise as she watched the water ripple across the ship. After a few minutes she asked, "What is the most beautiful thing about Narnia after dark?"

"Oh many things," said the captain, "But the most beautiful thing are probably the stars, especially the Anlestia star. Have you ever heard of it?"

"Several times. I believe it's the Narnian form of my name isn't it?"

"Yes, it means _graceful light_. And that name seems to fit you perfectly too," smiled the captain. Annelise smiled back at him.

The Anlestia star shone directly over the Great Western Woods, where Tumnus and the Beavers use to live. Because of its position, it was given the name of the Western Star as well.

On a clear night, if you look directly to the west, you will see a bright white star, but not just any star; around it shines a heavenly blue-gold outline that makes it look so beautiful that you are captivated with in seconds. It had shone in the sky since the creation of Narnia. It's the country's greatest jewel and its light never fades.

* * *

As the sky began to turn darker and darker, Annelise became sleepier and sleepier. Finally she fell asleep in one of the ship's cabins. She was still asleep when they landed into Narnia. It was mid-night and so no one saw any thought in waking her.

One of the centaurs carried her off the ship and into Cair Paravel. She could briefly hear voices of people once she got inside the castle.

"Do you want me to wake her?" came the voice of the centaur who obviously carrying her.

"No," said a soft voice that was gentle and almost motherly. "Take her up into her room. I think she'll sleep till morning" Susan said as she gently stroked her hair.

"I'll take her up," came Edmund's voice. He carried her up to her room where the maids dressed her and put her to bed.

During the night, she woke up to find herself in a very strange room. Suddenly she remembered, she must be in Narnia!

She lit her candle and looked around her pretty room that faced the sea. Her clothes were all hung up and all her books were on a desk. Her room was large and elegant.

_"What way to wake up,"_ she thought, _"But it's all so beautiful!"_ She went about as quietly as possible checking her room and for any small rooms. Annelise had that fear of small tight places. She had had it since she was a small child and so was always very cautious of where she was going.

_"I'm glad they gave me a big room. Nothing to be afraid of in here." _Suddenly, she wanted to explore the palace. Even if it was in the middle of the night! Well, maybe just a little bit.

She opened her door and walked out into the strange darkness. Carefully she made her way down some large stairs.

In some rooms there was a soft glimmer of light.

_"Best not to go that way,"_ she thought.

She turned around and went down a large carpeted hallway. The wind began to blow in one of the windows and almost blew out her candle. Luckily, the flame stayed lit and a good thing to, because she almost missed a very important door.

Annelise stayed there for a second and debated whether or not to go in. She finally decided to, thinking there would be no harm in looking. She opened the door and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she found herself in the library.

She wanted to scream in delight, but thankfully kept it to herself.

She checked the rows and rows of books, stopping every now and then to pick up an interesting looking title. Then she heard something clicking softly on the floor. She stopped dead in her tracks to afraid to move for the noise was coming behind her.

"What are you doing in here this time of night?" whispered a soft voice that she had never heard before.

"I'm sorry," she pleaded, "I couldn't sleep and I wanted to see the palace so badly that I left my room and soon I found myself in here."

"So inquisitive, just like your father," said the voice. It was coming closer and closer.

"You know my father?" Her voice became choked with fear, but also with curiosity.

"No, I knew your father, young princess," it said.

Annelise turned around to face the person she was talking to. It was a faun. A kind looking faun who was holding a candle in one hand and a book in the other.

"Are you...?" she asked trying to look closely at the face with the little light that she had.

"I am," he answered.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you," said Annelise, "I've heard so much about you. Almost all my life actually."

"I'm glad," said Tumnus as he walked toward her, "I've been waiting a long time to meet you again."

He looked at her as if he had seen her in a dream. A dream that began a long time ago.

Annelise smiled and was about to say something, but then a wind blew through the room and both their candles went out.

"Get to your room," whispered Tumnus in the dark, "I'll talk to you in the morning. I promise."

Annelise ran quietly out of the library and carefully made her way back to her room in the dark.

_"I haven't even been here for a day and things are already getting exciting,"_ she thought as she fell asleep.

* * *

"Philip, what would be doing if you weren't here at Cair Paravel?" asked Edmund one sunny afternoon, a couple days after Annelise had come.

He and Philip were on a grassy mound that overlooked all of Great Eastern Ocean and at the same time keeping an eye on Annelise and Lucy who were down at the beach.

The horse thought for a minute and then said, "Probably be getting into more trouble than my son."

"What! You of all animals! Getting into trouble!" said Edmund in disbelief.

"No, it's true," he insisted, "I was one of the wild stallions of The Fords of Beruna. Oreius straitened me out though, a few years before you came to Narnia. Don't laugh! We were the only animals that the White Witch's wolves were afraid to mess with. Well, them and every other Narnian.

"Sorry," said Edmund, "but I just find it hard to believe that you out of all animals had somewhat of a...past!"

"Those were hard times, Edmund. And the worst were probably the ten years before you all came to Narnia. A terrible disease was going through the country and animals were dying everywhere. We all had to do what we must to stay alive."

"Are the Stallions of Beruna still alive today?" Edmund asked.

"Oh yes, but they keep to themselves. And they help no one outside of their own circle."

"Then, why did you end up leaving and joining Orieus?" Before Philip could answer, Annelise came walking up to them. Her long brown hair was blowing around everywhere and for some reason, she looked so...different.

Almost as if a couple of days in Narnia had changed her looks, but certainly not her personality.

"Hello," she said breathlessly, "Is this him? Is this Philip?" she asked.

"Oh yes, Philip this is Princess Annelise Elvenwood. She's been waiting a long time to meet you." Philip's eyes become soft and almost glazy.

"Hello, young princess," he said softly, "People are right. You have become quite beautiful." Annelise blushed at the compliment and said, "Thank you.

Then turning her attention to Edmund she said," I hope your a mood for something of a treat, because I'm cooking something tonight."

"Oh no," Edmund teased. Annelise laughed and said," Do you remember those zucchini crisps we had at the wedding? Well, Lucy liked them so much that she wants me to make more. And so I said I would."

"Wait a minute, I thought you said you were banned from the kitchen," Edmund reminded her.

"Not from the Narnian kitchens' I'm not," she reasoned, "Anyway, I'm going to go down to Mrs. Beavers to get some zucchini and Lucy says she wants you. There suppose to be some kind of celebration at a place called the...the dancing... the Dancing Lawn! That's what it was! And so that's why we're having supper so early."

"Oh great! I had forgotten all about that!" said Edmund as he jumped off the ground.

There's one every year to welcome spring into Narnia and Lucy and I missed it last year, because we were in Terebinthia."

"Is it fun?" Annelise asked as she, Edmund and Philip walked down the mound.

"It's the best fun you'll have all year round, Princess!" said Philip, " Dancing, laughing, singing, and eating! Maybe that's why Lucy wanted to invite you now and not when your brother came home."

_"Typical of Lucy to do something like that,"_ thought Edmund.

* * *

A couple of hours later, they were all settled down to eat a light supper and then get ready to leave.

Annelise brought her zucchini crisps and they began to eat. After a few minutes, Lucy began to get a strange look on her face. As if she was going to be sick."

"What's wrong, Lu?" questioned Susan, although she didn't look to well either.

"I think," said Lucy,"I think I'm going to be sick!" And ran out of the room.

"What!" said Edmund in disbelief. Suddenly, Susan stood up, "Excuse me!" she said and ran just as quickly as Lucy did.

"What is going on?" asked Annelise, "I'm sure I followed the directions perfectly!"

Edmund was beginning to feel nauseous and dizzy. He felt like he was going to throw up.

"Just a minute!" he said and followed his sisters.

"Uhhm...my dear," Mrs. Beaver asked Annelise nervously, "where...where did you get that zucchini?"

"In the bin by the sink, where you told me it was," said Annelise.

"I'm afraid that was cucumber you picked up! The zucchini was in the cupboard! You see, Mr. Beaver and I like cucumber salads and so we eat it all the time, but not when the royals are here! Oh, this is horrible! They will by no means be fit to travel three hours to the Dancing Lawn at this rate!"

"Well," said Mr. Beaver, "We better go check on them. With allergies like theirs, they're in for a rough night."

* * *

Needless to say, Mr. Beaver was right. All three of them spent the entire night moaning and groaning and throwing up.

Annelise, the Beavers, and the maids stayed up all night with them. Cooling them down, giving them water, and managing to get some broth down them. Lucy had her cordial, so they were able to get better sooner, but it was still a long, miserable night.

The next morning they were all feeling better. Edmund had woken up, a little dizzy, but not sick. He was disappointed that they, especially Annelise, had missed the Dancing Lawn Festival, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

When Mr. Beaver had told him about the mix-up with the vegetables, Edmund couldn't help but laugh.

"Poor Annelise and Mrs. Beaver! They must feel terrible!"

"They feel pretty awful," said Beaver, "but you can't blame either one of them. And Princess Annelise spent the whole night tending to all of you, that when the sun came up she fell right asleep and she's been asleep ever since."

Suddenly, Tumnus came bursting into the room.

"There was an attack on the Dancing Lawn last night! By minatours from Ettinsmoor! Perhaps Aslan was in this whole thing to keep you all safe, but the Lawns are in shambles and they need you!"

Edmund was immediately on his feet and Tumnus went to get Susan and Lucy.

Soon they, along with Tumnus, the Beavers, the palace maids and all those who could help, were all gathered together to leave, but what to do with Annelise?

Lucy had told her what was going on, but Annelise was so tired that she didn't mind being left alone at the palace, with only a few centaur guards. At least she would be able to explore it. So they all left and Annelise went back to sleep.

A few hours later, she woke up and feeling excited, but a little scared that she was at the palace alone. She dressed, got something to eat and went to explore the outside.

"Can I go down near the forests?" she asked one of the guards. He looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were beginning to gather and it looked like there was going to be huge thunderstorm soon.

"Don't stay away to long. I think you would know to come back if it begins to rain, but you need to run quickly if it does. Narnia storms are not fun to get caught in."

"I will!" she promised and ran off toward the beautiful green forests.

She spent a time gathering flowers to press and to keep when she went back home. She was having so much fun, she began to lose track of time.

Then she began to hear strange voices in the forests. She didn't dare go near them, but instead hid behind a rock and listened closely. The voices were rough and hard. She had never heard of them before. They were speaking in some kind of strange, heavy, dialect, but she could make out a little bit.

"The attack was perfect!" came one voice, "It wasn't exactly what we had in planned. We thought that the sisters and the other brother were going to be there. But now when the royals come home, we will be at the palace to meet them. They think we are still around the Dancing Lawns! They'll never expect us to be at the castle!" said another voice.

Annelise's heart began to beat wildly. They were the minatours who had attacked the lawns last night! What could she do? Was there anything that could be done? The only thing she knew is that she had to back to the palace and tell somebody.

All of a sudden a massive crack of lightning came flashing through the sky and then rain began to pour and pour. The voices were drowned out and so Annelise couldn't hear anything they were saying. Carefully and quietly she got out from her hiding place and ran toward Cair Paravel through the blinding rain.

* * *

Annelise ran up the steep the hill trying not to slip and fall. She was soaking wet and freezing. The guard had been right; Narnia storms were not fun to get caught in. She could barely see a thing, but then she saw one of the towers of Cair Paravel and began to run in its direction.

_"Let me get there in time! Let me get there in time, Please!"_ she prayed. The rain began to pour harder and harder. Finally, she reached the doors and pushed them open. To her surprise she saw centaurs standing in the main entryway.

"Who...who are she you?" she asked shyly as she closed the door.

The centaurs stopped for a moment and examined the soaking wet girl in front of them. She was shivering and cold and looked, well, rather pathetic. They had to smile in spite of the horrified look on her face.

"We've just come back from fighting the war in Ettnismoor with the High King Peter," said one named Mattik.

"King Peter!" she cried, "He's back! When did he return?"

"A few hours ago and who are you?" said another one.

But Annelise had already darted up the stairs to go find him, when she all of a sudden ran into the largest centaur there. He was dark skinned and had long, curly, black, hair that fell to his waist. He could have been supremely handsome had it not been for the frightening look on his face that intimidated the young princess.

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked in a rather cold manner.

Annelise struggled to find her words, but she was almost as frightened of these strange animals (she had never seen centaurs before) as she was of the minatours in the forest.  
"I...I...uh," she struggled for the words.

"Who are you?" asked the centaur impatiently.

Annelise gathered up all the courage she had and said, "I am Princess Annelise Elvenwood of Terebinthia and I really, no desperately, need to speak, the High King Peter."

The centaur looked impressed. "A princess," he said, "A rather little princess. All the way from the lovely island of...where did you say you were from?" The other centaurs at the bottom of the stairs laughed, which only made Annelise angrier and angrier.

"Terebinthia," she said, "Now where is the High King? I must speak with him!"

"He will see no one right now," said the Centaur, "And what I would like to know is why you are here, when the rightful royals of Narnia are not?"

"I was invited to come by Queen Lucy and there was an attack on the Dancing Lawns last night and she and Queen Susan and Ed- King Edmund all left," she explained in one breath.

"Well, that must mean you have a room then. So I suggest you had better stay there until the High King can see you," said the centaur that Annelise found arrogant and disliked him more and more with every word he said.

The other centaurs were laughing now and Annelise burned with anger. Never had she ever been so humiliated in all her life. If these animals were like this, who knew what there king was like?

She had heard mixed reports about the High King from different people and had never thought to ask any of his siblings about his character.

As she slowly made her way to her room, she began to cry for home. Her real home.

* * *

Annelise laid out her wet dress by a fire that had already been lit when she got there. She tightened up the strings to the clean one she was wearing and sat down in front of the fire to brush her messy wet hair. She was still venting about the centaurs.

_"They make me burn! Especially, that arrogant, self-righteousness, high and mighty, one!"_

She brushed her hair and then began to braid it with ribbons that matched her midnight blue dress.

When she was done she looked out her window at the pouring rain. She wondered if the rain might ruin the minatours attack and is they did attack could they possibly kill some of those centaurs, maybe the arrogant one as well?

As wrong as it was to think it, Annelise smiled to herself, but then felt guilty. Maybe they were tired and they had just got home. It still gave them no reason to treat her like that.

She was beginning to feel hungry so left her room and tried to find a way to sneak down into the kitchen. As she walked down she came pass a set of magnificently carved ivory doors.

She could hear talking behind them. One voice she recognized as the arrogant centaur ("fabulous," she thought), but the other was unfamiliar.

Then she heard the door begin to open and she dove under a tapestry. The arrogant centaur walked out and passed Annelise.

When she was sure he was gone, she got out from under the tapestry and walked over to the doors. Slowly she opened them.

Inside was a large, elegant room and it had hardly any furniture in it.

Large white columns lined the room on either side. A white canopy was hanging from the middle of the ceiling and fluttered down to the floor.

The windows must have been made a certain way to allow only a little bit of light in the room. They must have also been opened, because Annelise could feel a breeze coming through the room.

Shyly, she went to see what was in the large white canopy. There was only a lounging chair and a few tables.

"You're the little princess my siblings are constantly going on about," came the unfamiliar voice that seemed to come from nowhere.

Annelise turned around, but to her surprise, saw nothing.

"I am," she said, "And you must be King Peter? Are you not?"

"Yes. What are you doing here?"

"In this room or in this country?" she asked still wondering where King Peter was.

"It doesn't really matter with me," said Peter's voice, "Whichever you want to start with, is fine with me."

And then in walked the High King.

He was not at all what Annelise expected. He was tall and, even though he had lost a dramatic amount of weight, was still handsome and held a kind look in his eyes.

He smiled to her and she began to feel comfortable around him. Then she sat down and told him the whole story.

Of coming to Narnia, the allergy attack with his siblings, the raid on the Dancing Lawn, the minatours in the forest, of the centaurs, and finally how she ended up in this room.  
He listened without interrupting.

When she was done he said, "Well, seems that you have had quite a few days in Narnia. Haven't you?" Annelise nodded and he went on, "Even though I told them not to, my siblings went against my orders and brought you here to Narnia."

"They won't be in trouble on my account, will they?" asked Annelise

"There's nothing I can really do about that now. They're all adults now and responsible for their own decisions."

"I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble, Your Majesty," said Annelise quietly.

"How can I have you say you're sorry, when you have saved my country twice, within twenty-four hours," he said as he lifted her face up to look at him, "There is nothing for you to be sorry for, but plenty for us here in Narnia to be thankful, for what you have done."

* * *

The minatours were found and dealt with. And then Annelise had a proper meeting with the centaurs. The arrogant one was Oreius and she found out he could be quite nice and then he never meant to be mean to her. Neither were any of the other centaurs, they just got like that when they were away from home to long.

Later that night, Susan, Edmund, Lucy and all the others came home. They were surprised, but overjoyed to see Peter and the centaurs safe and back at home. And were even more surprised when Peter told them of how Annelise had saved the country again.

She tried to deny it, but it was impossible. Within only a few hours the whole country had fallen in love with the princess from Terebinthia.

The last few days went by quickly and soon it was time for Annelise to leave. Edmund found her on top of the mound where he and Philip had been the other day.

"It's a shame that you'll be leaving," he said as he stood next to her.

"Yes, I've learned to love it here like it's my own," she said as looked longingly at her home across the ocean.

"It doesn't take long to," Edmund said.

After a moment Annelise said, "The country isn't the only reason why I came though."

"May I ask what the other reasons were then?" questioned Edmund nervously.

" Well, one reason is standing right in front of me," she said as she leaned toward him.

And then Edmund took her face in his hands and gently pressed his lips to hers.

How long they were there, they didn't know and they didn't care.

Even though they were outside in broad daylight and the country could be watching them, they didn't care.

Edmund felt his heart beat rapidly as he gently whispered something to her and stroke her long dark hair.

Annelise felt breathless almost as if she was in a dream and was too afraid to wake up.

"Edmund," she whispered, "there is something I must tell you before I go."

"What is it?" he said as he looked into her deep brown eyes.

"Simply that...this week has been the most amazing week of my life."

"And these last few minutes are the most wonderful any man could possibly have," said Edmund.

He reached into his pocket and gave a letter to Annelise.

"Give this to your father, please." Annelise didn't have to venture a wide guess to what it was.

It was letter from Edmund to ask her father if he could court her.

"I will," she promised. And then she gave Edmund one last kiss goodbye.


	12. A Slave to the Past

**Chapter Eleven. A Slave To The Past**

Within a matter of weeks, all of Narnia was becoming suspicious of a supposed romance between King Edmund and Princess Annelise Elvenwood of Terebinthia. And after a few months, Terebinthia was beginning to wonder as well.

They didn't have to wonder long, because the announcement came out in mid-August that indeed there was a relationship between the king and the princess.

Needless to say, both countries were overjoyed about it. Terebinthia would be the first country to be tied to Narnia (during the time of King Frank and Queen Helen, nobody married outside of the country) and Narnia would have a new queen by marriage. Yes, it seemed to be a perfect match. Everybody thought so.

"You know, if you spent more time with your head out of the clouds and back into the real world, the country might have a chance of seeing its king regent again," teased Tumnus as he watched Edmund fold up a letter from Annelise.

They were both in Edmund's office doing some court work when Sallowpad swooped in and gave Edmund a large letter that had Annelise's handwriting on it.

"What do you mean?" asked Edmund as he got out more paper to write back a reply, "I still do my regular work and the country gets to see me all the time, when I'm out horseback riding or something like that.

"No, not physically. Emotionally. I felt the same way before...before I was married," said Tumnus in a sad faraway voice.

Edmund didn't know what to say. It wasn't like Tumnus to talk about his past. He always just assumed that he was just a lonely bachelor who preferred reading and writing to love.

"I had no idea you were married," he finally said. Tumnus simply smiled and said,"It's just a subject I don't like to bring up. I really don't know why though. I wasn't ashamed of our marriage or Aline that was my wife's name, Aline. As short as it was, it was a very, very, happy marriage

After a moment, Tumnus gathered up some papers and said he needed to take them down to the library. When he left, Edmund looked down at Annelise's letter. Would he be able to love her so much, that that love would continue even after she was gone? Tumnus said that it was a short marriage, but he made it sound as they had been married for an eternity. Could love really make a few years seem like a lifetime?"

* * *

Edmund and Annelise tried to see each other as much as possible. That was rather hard to do, seeing that they lived three days away from each other.

So they alternated between countries. Edmund came to Terebinthia one month and Annelise came Narnia the next month.

They always came with their families as well. So they were rarely if ever alone. Annelise believed that her parents did that on purpose.

They did it with Halina and Dimiti and even though he was king of Narnia, Edmund was no exception.

One day in early November, he was in Terebinthia with his family celebrating the christening of Halina and Dimitri's new baby, Elias Halabin.

True to her words, Halina had a baby before her first wedding anniversary. Annelise was one of her godmothers and the proudest aunt ever.

After the ceremony she and Edmund managed to get away into the gardens to talk to each other alone.

"Can you believe its been six months since we started our relationship?" said Annelise as she took Edmund's hand, once they were out of sight.

"No, I can't," he admitted, "It's made the summer fly so fast."

"I sometimes feel like I've grown up overnight," Annelise said. They walked deeper into the garden.

"Where are we going?" asked Edmund.

"You'll find out." And soon he did. Annelise led him into a small secluded part of the garden that was surrounded by a wall and could only get in through by a door.

Inside, roses blossomed in red, white, and pink. Violets and tulips and daffodils bobbed gently in the wind.

It was so beautiful, but even more beautiful with Annelise standing right in the middle of it.

"This is wonderful," said Edmund.

"I thought you would like it." Annelise turned and looked up in his face and then asked, "Do you love me half as much as I love you?"

"That and so much more," he answered, "but I still feel that I don't know you that well. As if, there's a part of you that's a secret that you're keeping from me," he said as gently took her face in his hands.

"How-how so?" asked Annelise with a worried look.

"I don't know. It's just that, ever since my fall out with the White Witch, I've never really been able to trust anybody outside of my own family. Until now."

Annelise was quiet for a moment and then asked a little hesitantly, "If you knew everything about me, the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly, you would still love me the same? Wouldn't you?"

"Everybody has faults, Anee, and everybody makes mistakes in life. Nobody's perfect," reasoned Edmund. Annelise wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her.

"I'm claustrophobic. If it's any help to you." Edmund laughed gently to himself.

"One day," she whispered in his ear, "I will tell you all my secrets. Not today, though. Now is not the time."

_Now is not the time._ He had heard that before. He didn't have much time to dwell on it though, as he gently brushed his lips against Annelise's and wrapped her up in a passionate kiss.

* * *

The months went by quickly. Christmas, New Year, Lucy's nineteenth birthday in February and then Edmund's twentieth in March.

He had had just a small quiet party with family and friends and of course including the Elvenwoods.

The large party would be next year, his twenty-first birthday and he was already beginning to dread the coming-of-age Narnia ritual that they had put Peter through.

He still didn't know what it was, but the only thing he had figured was that it had to do with getting wet, because Peter came back from his soaked.

Edmund continued to write in the journal that Father Christmas had given him.

He enjoyed it.

He had started with their coming into Narnia, meeting Aslan, the battle with the White Witch, and finally their coronation at Cair Paravel.

Then he went on with more stories of their lives in Narnia. And he just kept on adding more and more stories.

Adventure and battles were usually the main theme behind them, but there were also ones that had to deal with kindness, compassion, and tenderness (those were usually about Susan) and mischief and fun (those were always about Lucy).

All in all, Edmund concluded that it was a great gift, but how it was to save the country one day, he had no idea.

April brought the first year anniversary (I guess that what you call it) of Edmund and Annelise's courtship.

They stilled continued to write to one another and see each other whenever possible. And then in June, when the mid-summers celebration was coming up, Edmund knew that now was the time to ask Annelise.

He had written to her father some weeks before and had gotten a happy reply back.

With that taken care of, how was he going to tell Peter?

Even though Edmund was an adult, protocal demanded that if you are under twenty-five, you must seek permission from the high king for marriage.

And Edmund didn't know if Peter thought him and Annelise old enough to marry.

He would worry about that later. All of this balanced on Annelise's decision to marry him.

* * *

Annelise, Erik, and their parents arrived couple of days before the mid-summer celebration on June 21'st.

Edmund decided he would propose at the celebration, if they got a chance to be alone.

Every time he saw her, his heart seemed to almost burst with anticipation.

He felt as if he couldn't hold it in, but he had to. At least until that night.

Because June 21'st is the longest day of the year, night seemed to take forever to come, but it finally did.

The celebration was a typical Narnia one. Wine and food and dancing that never seemed to end.

Lucy and Annelise had been raiding the entire palace to see what kind of trouble they could get into.

When they reached the main throne room (where the coronation had taken place) Edmund went over to Annelise, took her hand, and softly said to her, "There is something I need ask of you."

"And there is something I must tell, before anything else happens," said Annelise hurriedly

"Alright," said Edmund, "but not here."

He took her hand and began to take her down the hall, when suddenly Annelise was pushed brutally down by one of the Terebinthian guards that had accompanied her and her family.

Edmund was appalled, but it was Lucy who managed to say something first.

"What do you think you are doing?" she yelled causing the celebration to stop.

"I'm doing you a favor, young queen," he sneered, "To stop your brother from making the worst mistake of his life and to expose to you what this princess really is, if you still want to call her a princess.

"No!" yelled Annelise. Her parents and her brother had all gathered around while she cried in pain.

"What...what are you talking about?" asked Edmund disbelief.

"Young princess, "he said mockingly as he turned to Annelise, "tell this dear king who your real parents are."

"Stop this right now!" demanded King Christian as he stood up to the guard.

"Her real parents? They're standing right there!" said Susan almost as angrily as Lucy.

"Then I am afraid that this child has fooled even your wise eyes, My Lady. For her real parents were nothing more than murderers and traitors to Narnia."

Edmund's head was spinning.

It couldn't be?

Annelise counldn't be the daughter of traitors!

All of a sudden, he felt as if someone had taken a rock and shattered his heart with it.

Traitors... to Narnia.

"This is impossible!" he said.

"She has no parents but us!" said Queen Maria.

"I am...I am what he says," came Annelise's small voice.

"Anee! No!" begged Erik, but she stood up and faced Edmund and the people in the room.

"I am the daughter of Prince Ulrik and Princess Tezhia and the last living descendant of King Frank and Queen Helen."

The whole room began to buzz with shouts of anger and disbelief. Peter, Susan, and Lucy looked shocked beyond words.

"All this time," said Edmund finally, "you lied to me."

"I can explain!" pleaded Annelise.

"There is nothing to explain!" yelled Edmund. His feelings of love and compassion suddenly turned into wicked hate and anger. He hated her more than anyone else in the world.

"You used me! I trusted you and you lied to me! JUST LIKE THE WITCH!"

Annelise finally broke down and began to cry again. It was then when Edmund saw the locket hanging around her neck. Her brutally pulled it off of her neck and looked inside. The room was now silent.

"These aren't your grandparents," he said in a deadly whisper to her, "They're your parents! Aren't they?" Annelise nodded as she trembled in fear and tears poured down her face.

"I have had enough of lies and deceit! Everything that I once thought was good and honest and right within you is now destroyed! You are no better than her!" he said as he threw the locket to the other side of the room and ran out.

Annelise's family tried to console her, but she too ran out.

Everybody else began to speak in harsh whispers to one another. Peter, Susan, and Lucy took the Elvenwoods to the private apartments to talk to them.

They too were in just as much shock and disbelief as Edmund had been, but they felt pity for the Annelise where Edmund had felt hate.

* * *

Annelise was crying so hard she had no idea where she was going, but finally she made outside to where there was no one else.

She sat on the steps and tried to control her sobbing and her spinning mind. Yes, she was going to tell Edmund, but that wasn't the way it went at all! Now Edmund hated her for something that was only half true!

"My poor princess," came the familiar voice of the guard, "I had no idea this would affect you so badly."

Annelise turned around and saw not only him, but several of the other Terebinthian guards. Fear began to grip her heart. They gathered around her blocking any chance of her getting away.

"Why did you do that? It was not your place to do so!" she managed to say.

"Oh yes, it was," said another one.

"You see, it seems quite a shame that such a beautiful princess should have to be given over to such a weak-hearted king," said the guard as he touched the princess's face.

His hands were ice cold and rough. And it sent shiver down Annelise's spine. She tried to duck away, but another guard grabbed and kept her still.

"And what a shame that the king who said he would still love you, even after you told him your most innermost secrets, then turned around and fed you to the wolves."

Annelise suddenly remembered. Last year, the day in the garden with Edmund in Terebinthia! She was so sure that they had been alone! And now, she and Edmund were paying for it.

She couldn't take it any longer. Somehow she managed to get away from the guard who was holding her and break through the circle of men. She ran out toward the forests. Away from the palace and from everything that was hurting her.

"Come on!" shouted the head guard, "She can't run that far!" And they all ran after her.

* * *

Tumnus had not been there doing the whole ordeal and so you can imagine his surprise when he walked into the throne room and instead if hearing music and laughter, he heard loud whispers that were harsh and angry.

"What's going on?" he asked, but before anyone could answer, Lucy came running toward him. He asked her and she gave him a brief overview of what happened.

"Where is she? The princess?" he asked when Lucy was done.

"I don't know. We can't find Edmund either."

Tumnus thought for a moment and then said, "I know where he is." And then left go find him.

As he was walking out of the room, he saw a small silver necklace that had been thrown carelessly to the ground.

He picked it up and began making his way to the top of the palace, to where the library was.

When he got there, he looked around carefully.

There he saw a brooding Edmund in one of the window seats. A favorite place for him to be alone.

"What have you done?" asked Tumnus.

"I'm surprised you don't already know the answer to that!" snapped Edmund

"I'm afraid I do know the answer, but why did it have to be that way?" Tumnus said trying to keep his voice steady.

Edmund then jumped down from his dark hiding place and faced the faun.

"She lied to me!"

"Perhaps she had a good reason to!"

"Good grief Tumnus! You write essays and pour over books and yet you know nothing about love!"

"I know more about love, boy, than you can possibly imagine! Edmund, you may have just lost the most precious thing ever given to you!"

"I have been made to be a slave to my past!" Edmund yelled, "There is no way I can escape it!"

The older faun looked at the young king for a moment and then slowly said, "I thought you were a better man than that."

He then turned and walked away, but not before Edmund noticed the locket he held in his hand.

"Tumnus, what is it about her that affects you so? You've only seen her a few times, but I feel like you've known her all her life," he asked.

This time his voice was full of remorse and sorrow.

Tumnus stayed still for a moment and then slowly he turned to look at the young king.

His eyes full of sadness.

"She's my niece."


	13. Tumnus's Promise

**Chapter Twelve. Tumnus's Promise**

Rain began to pour outside and in the distance thunder began rumble, but Edmund didn't hear any of it.

The only thing he could hear were the thoughts swirling around in his mind. He couldn't believe it.

This was all impossible! How could Annelise, a human, a princess, and a Terebinthian, be Tumnus's niece?

"Wait," he said as Tumnus was about to leave, "you have to explain! You've been keeping this from us for eight years! And we all, me especially, deserve to know the truth and you're the only one who can tell us!"

He tried to keep from yelling and he could certainly see this was painful for Tumnus.

"Come with me," Tumnus said quietly as he walked out of the library.

"Where are we going?" asked Edmund as he followed him.

"To find the answer to your questions."

He soon found himself in Tumnus's small, but cozy room.

He seated himself by a fire and watched as the faun pull over a small trunk that had been in the corner. He opened it up and took out several small items.

"I'm Annelise's uncle by marriage," he said, "Her mother, her real mother Tezhia, was my wife's younger sister."

He handed Edmund a small portrait painting of a young nymph. She was beautiful. She had long dark red hair and bright blue eyes. So, Annelise was part nymph.

"She's beautiful," Edmund said unable to take his eyes away from her.

"That's exactly what Ulrik thought as well," said Tumnus as he handed him another portrait.

This time of a man who looked no older than himself. There was no denying that he was Annelise's father. Dark brown hair (or black, it was hard to tell), large brown eyes and the same gentle smile completed the handsome prince's face.

There was something about him that Edmund liked; he didn't know what it was. He believed that he and Ulrik would have gotten along great had they known each other.

"How did they meet?" he asked.

Tumnus thought for a moment and then said, "Ulrik may have been under arrest, but he was still allowed to see whomever he wanted to see as long as he was guarded by at least two of the witch's wolves.

He met Tezhia while taking a walk in the woods. She was alone and he was with two of the wolves.

Tezhia had gotten seperated from her sister and Ulrik, the gentleman and prince he was, offered her his assistance.

I think it was really love that made him do it. He was young, barely eighteen and she was also fairly young as well. She did manage to get home that night and they began to see each other when ever possible.

"And the witch did nothing to prevent this from happening?" said Edmund confusedly.

"That's the one thing that none of us could understand," said Tumnus, "She allowed it, she did nothing.

Two years later they were married and a year later they had a son, Frank. Fourteen months later, they had a daughter, Cailin.

They were happy. So very, very, happy that they didn't care that they were living in a shack with Ulrik's parents and that they were watched constantly by the police.

They had their children and each other. That was the only thing that mattered to them.

Ulrik told me once that before he had met Tezhia he had never known what it was like to be warm.

He had never seen grass or flowers or any kind of plant life whatsoever. And after he met her, it was like the sun itself was in her. He could feel warmth and see beauty that was beyond her face. If that's not love I don't know what is."

Edmund smiled. To never feel the sun or see a rose or a blossom or any type of growth, that would drive him insane. Then he realized that Ulrik was born into that life and was use to it.

"What happened next?" he asked.

"A few years went by and Ulrik's parents had died. Then when Frank was about two and Cailin almost one, the Witch began to reveal her secret plan."

"What?"

"You do know that a parent would do anything for his child. Even lay down his life if need be."

Edmund remembered Annelise saying something similar.

Tumnus then took a deep breath and went on, "The witch believed that if she could turn the country against Ulrik then she would have complete power. So she told him to turn in spies who were conspiring against her. He refused. He loved his country and his people, but he loved his family more. She said that if he didn't give in to her commands she would kill his children."

Edmund went numb inside.

He had witnessed the witch's unmerciful cruelty, but this was beyond anything had ever seen.

To turn a country against their prince, she had threatened to murder innocent children who never had a chance to think a bad thought about anybody.

He felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes and then he looked over at Tumnus who had to remember and repeat this whole incident to him.

"You don't have to go on," Edmund said. Tumnus shook his head and looked at the young king.

"Ulrik had no choice, his children were on the line and he would do anything to keep them alive. So he and soon Tezhia started to turn in spies under one condition, Tezhia's family, which consisted of her sister and I, were left alone.

Sure enough, the plan worked. The country began to resent him almost as much as the witch. About a year after this, a terrible sickness started to spread through Narnia. It hit Ulrik and his children and within months they were dead.

Tezhia thankfully was spared and the witch seeing no use to her set her free to live with Aline and I. There was one thing that witch didn't know. Tezhia was a few months pregnant.

"With Annelise," said Edmund.

"Yes, she was able to live her last few months in peace and safety. And know that now that her unborn child would be safe." Tumnus then stopped and then stood up.

"Aren't you going to tell me the rest?" said Edmund.

"No," Tumnus said as he opened a book and took a piece of paper out, "I'm going to show you instead."

Now Edmund was really confused. Tumnus tossed the paper into the fire, but to

Edmund's amazement it didn't burn up. Instead it glowed a soft red color.

"Alright, get up and when I say go, reach out into the flames and touch the paper."

"You must be insane!"

"You won't get burned, I've done it before! Now don't worry!"

Edmund stood up next to the fire and felt incredibly uncomfortable about what he was about to do.

When Tumnus said go, they both reached in and touched the illuminated paper.

Instead of being burnt, Edmund felt a gentle warm wave go through him as everything swirled around him going faster and faster and faster. Then suddenly he found himself in another place. In Tumnus's old home.

"Do you know where we are?" asked Tumnus

"Your old home in the Western Woods?"

"Yes, this is a memory and no one can see us or hear us. Now follow me."

Edmund looked around the dark room. There was no fire and he could hear the wind beating against the house and the windows. On the walls were books and paintings.

Lucy was right, it was a cozy looking place. Tumnus led him to a closed door that had light shining through it and inside he could hear painful groaning sounds and then the sound of a crying baby.

"What is this?" asked Edmund nervously and to his surprise Tumnus gave him a small smile.

"Everything I believe in now, the choices I made later on in life, the person I am today, all happened on this night. And I never realized it, until this moment."

Then he opened the door.

When Edmund walked in he saw a young woman lying in the bed. Her face was hot and her red hair was drenched with sweat.

He came closer to her and suddenly he realized who she was. It was Tezhia, Annelise's mother.

She was wearing Annelise's locket.

Then he looked over and saw another nymph sitting by the fireplace holding a small bundle in her arms. She too had dark red hair that fell all the way down her back.

She was pretty, very pretty. Edmund had to assume that was Tezhia's sister...and Tumnus's wife.

"Aline," said Tezhia, "I know I don't have long to live, but I want to live to see my child. To hold him for only a few seconds."

"I know," said Aline, "She must look presentable for her mother though."

"She? You mean-"

"Yes, you have a beautiful girl! She looks just Ulrik too!"

"Ulrik," Tezhia said softly, "How I wish you were here."

"I wish my husband was here too! What's taking him so long?" Aline wrapped the baby in some small cloths and scarves and brought her over to her mother.

Tezhia lifted her head off the pillow and held out her arms. She smiled and laughed gently as she took her child.

"She's so beautiful!"

"Very much so," said Aline as she sat on the bed and looked at her new niece, "What are you going to name her?"

Tezhia thought for a moment and said, "Annelise. A form of our beautiful star."

"It shines bright tonight," said Aline, "Brighter than usual actually."

"Perhaps it's a sign," came a voice from behind.

Edmund looked behind him and saw the strangest picture.

A young Tumnus and an old Tumnus standing right next to each other.

There was little difference in the two.

Young Tumnus's hair was darker, he had less lines and wrinkles on his face, and on his left hand was a white gold wedding ring.

Aline went over and hugged and kissed him and then brought him over to see his niece.

"Hold her," said Tezhia in barely a whisper.

Aline took the small bundle and carefully placed the baby in her husband's arms.

Annelise gurgled and held put her tiny hands. Tumnus played with them gently while he held her in his steady arms.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"Annelise"

"Annelise," said Tumnus, "Our own little star."

Suddenly, Tezhia began to gasp for air. Her eyes began to glaze and her breathing began to slow down. Tumnus placed the baby back in her arms.

She held her daughter lovingly and then said, "Promise me, that my child will live. That she will come to know Narnia as it was truly meant to be. She can't stay here though. She must be sent away. Where the witch can't find her."

"To where?" said Aline through tears.

"Terebinthia. Our countries have not intermarried and so we have no family there. And they will not be concerned with the witch anyway. King Christian is a good man. I believe he will take her. Write to them and tell them the truth."

Then she took off the silver locket and put it in Aline's hand. "Tell them to give this to her when they think the time is right."

"All right," said Tumnus, "We promise." Tears began to stream down his face as he took his sister-in-law's hand and Aline took the other.

"She is the last descendant of King Frank and Queen Helen. She must live and she will be queen of Narnia. She will fulfill the Allingham prophecy and then it will truly be restored to its glory again."

Tezhia took one last look at her daughter and softly she said, "I love you and your father and your brother and your sister, they love you too. May Aslan shine his light upon you wherever you go." I will always be with you my little Annelise. Always."

And then giving the baby one final kiss on her forehead, Princess Tezhia of Narnia died.

Aline started to cry and Tumnus wrapped his arms around her and held her for a while.

Edmund could feel tears coming down his face. How innocently she died. She died praying that Aslan would shine his light upon her daughter.

"Are you all right?" said Tumnus, well the older Tumnus.

"Yes. Is there more?"

As to answer his question, there was a loud knock at the door. Aline and Tumnus both stood up. Their faces white with fear.

"Open the door Tumnus! It's Beaver!"

They breathed a sigh of relief and went to open the door. Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Beaver both came in covered in snow.

"How is she, Tezhia?" said Mrs. Beaver.

"Tezhia died only a few minutes ago," answered Tumnus as he began to build a fire.

"Oh no!," cried Mrs. Beaver putting her paws over her eyes

"She was so sweet and dies so...unnecessarily," said Mr. Beaver.

"Oh!" said Mrs. Beaver suddenly, "Her baby! What about her baby?"

"I'll get her," Aline said and hurried off into the bedroom to find Annelise.

She brought her out and the Beavers began to coo over her like she was there own.

Then, after Tumnus had the fire burning, he told them about Tezhia's dying words.

"Terebinthia, it's all the way across the sea. It's so far for such a little one to travel," Mrs. Beaver said when Tumnus had finished.

"It's the only thing we can do," Tumnus said sadly, "How are we going to get her there? That's the problem."

"Listen," Beaver said, "You all stay here and I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" asked his wife.

"I said I'll be back, Love." And went out the door.

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever understand him," Mrs. Beaver said. Edmund smiled.

_"They haven't changed at all,"_ he thought.

Annelise started to make fussy noises and flailing her little fists around.

"Oh dear, she must be hungry! I'll see what I can fix her," said Mrs. Beaver as she went into the kitchen to make something for the baby.

While she was doing that, Aline and Tumnus were alone with the baby.

"Even though I didn't give birth to her I feel like she is mine," Aline said as she hugged the baby closer to her, "Considering the fact that we don't-"

"I haven't given up all hope of that," said Tumnus as he ran is fingers through her dark hair, "There's always hope."

He pressed his lips against Aline's and let several tears mingle with hers. Then door sprang open and in came Beaver.

"I think I may have just found a way to get the child over the sea, but we need to do it tonight!"

* * *

"You mean to tell me, Beaver, that we are going to pack this child up in a basket, carry her to a clearing in the woods, and wait for some bird to come and take her across the sea to Terebinthia?" said Mrs. Beaver skeptically.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! Listen there is news in Terebinthia that right now as we speak; Queen Maria has just given birth to a son. Now if we get that baby over there in time, they can say that the children are twins!"

"This is ludicrous!" cried Mrs. Beaver, "Who's to say they're going to want a child from another country who was flown into them by an eagle or whatever bird he was!"

"This was Tezhia's dying wish, that her daughter be raised in safety; and Terebinthia was the place she wanted and if we can get her there then lets do it," said Tumnus.

He looked over at his wife who was holding the sleeping princess.

"What do you think?" he said.

"If King Christian is the good man everybody says he is, then yes I will do it," she said simply. That only left Mrs. Beaver.

"Well," she sighed, "let's get on with it."

So they all around finding articles for the baby. Mrs. Beaver found a basket that could carry her and Aline found some small clothes and scarves that Tezhia had made for her children.

Meanwhile, Tumnus and Mr. Beaver were composing a letter to send to King Christian.

Finally, they were all ready.

* * *

When they stepped outside it was pitch black. The storm had stopped and the only light came from the Anlestia star from above.

They all followed Mr. Beaver through the woods.

Edmund and Mr. Tumnus (older) followed them.

As they walked Tumnus (younger) carried the baby basket and Aline and Mrs. Beaver carried the extra food.

Everything was quiet until Aline stopped in her tracks and became suddenly sensitive.

"Do you hear that?" she said in a whisper.

They all listened and they too heard it. It was the sound of horse hooves in the snow. And they were coming closer and closer.

"Oh no!" groaned Tumnus (younger), " The Stallion's of Beruna! This is the last thing we need!"

They all stayed tightly together as the noise became louder and louder.

Soon they heard a horse's whinny and another one.

Then it was silenced. Shapes began to form out of the dark. And then a cold hard voice broke the silence.

"Where are you all going on a night like this?" The voice sounded very familiar to Edmund.

"What we do with our own business is none of your concern!" said Aline bravely.

"My, the little maiden nymph has courage!" came the taunting voice of another horse. There was small laughter that went around the circle of horses.

Then Tumnus (younger) spoke up, "We are here to bring an innocent child to safety. We need to get her Terebinthia. And we need to get her there tonight."

"Whose child?" came the voice of the first horse.

"The daughter of Prince Ulrik and Princess Tezhia."

"Your're trying to save the daughter of traitors and murders!" There was a loud uproar and the horses began to close in on them. The Tumnus(younger) spoke up in a loud voice.

"This child is not the daughter of traitors! Ulrik did this because his family was in danger! He did it out of love for his children and his wife! But what do you, all of you, know about love? About compassion and mercy? Nothing. You're selfish, you're cold, and you're cruel! You only think of yourselves and no other! You have no honor, no trust, no honesty! You are mere shadows on the wall! You stand and judge a man who all he did was die for love when you have been dead far longer, because you have no love."

There was an immediate silence and then one of the horses sneered, "Just get her out of our country."

And they turned and left them.

"Let's continue on," said Tumnus when they had gone.

"That was so frightening," Aline said as she stayed close to her husband.

"I get a feeling they're not going be around as much anymore," Tumnus said.

"I wonder why?" said Aline.

They all laughed quietly and continued walking.

"I'm impressed," Edmund said as he and Tumnus followed behind.

"My father had always had a problem with them. So they were a frequent topic of conversation at our supper table when I was growing up."

"Beaver!" whined Mrs. Beaver after a while, "Are we there yet?"

It was still very dark and even though they had the moon shining down, they were having a hard time catching up.

"Almost. Don't worry."

"I've heard that before."

While they were walking up a steep ledge, there came growl from behind.

"Don't move," whispered Tumnus to his wife and he carefully handed her the baby. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver had frozen to their spots.

"That little princess isn't going anywhere," growled the wolf as he came closer to them.

"We are taking her to safety and you will not stop us," said Tumnus.

"Watch me!" yelled the wolf and sprang upon their area when all of a sudden he was knocked back hard to the ground.

Whatever hit him began to talk in a low cold voice.

"I will not worship a false queen!"

It was a voice of one of the horses. It was Philip's voice.

"Philip!" said Edmund

"Yes, it's him," Tumnus said, "I think I may have talked some sense into him."

The wolf lay motionless on the ground. Philip came into the light and looked up at them.

"I'm sorry," he said, "You were right. I do know nothing about love and I am tired of chasing after an illusion of freedom that consists of terrorizing the innocent. I want to see that child get to safety."

"You fool!" came the voice of the other horses. They had obviously been following them quietly, "You know if you help them, then you forfeit yourself out of Beruna."

"Than it is forfeit. This is a country worth dying for and I want to die with honor."

"So be it!" And they turned and left.

"Thank you so much," said Aline to Philip.

"Tell me," he said, "Why are you risking your life for this child?"

"Well…..I guess because I believe in a free Narnia," she answered quietly.

"Good enough," said Philip and he let Aline ride on his back while carrying the baby.

Finally, they came to the clearing where Annelise was to leave them.

"What time do you think it is?" asked Aline as she climbed off of Philip.

"Probably about four in the morning, if even that," he said. Aline opened up the basket and looked inside.

Little Annelise was sleeping soundly.

She had black hair that was soft and wispy and fair skin with rosy pink cheeks. Her little hands were curled up in fists and she was surrounded by blankets for warmth and safety.

"I sure do hope they understand," said Aline as she set the letter back into its place.

"They will," said Tumnus, "I have a feeling that they will.

"Aha!" Beaver said pointing up, "There's the old boy right now!"

A large elegant animal came swooping out of the sky and landed where the small party was. He was a phoenix.

"I will get her to safety. I promise," he said.

Aline and Tumnus said goodbye once more to their little niece.

"Is there anything we can keep to remember her by?" asked Tumnus.

Aline looked through the basket and brought out a dark red scarf.

"I think this will do just fine," she said as she wrapped it around his neck.

After Annlise was safely wrapped up, the phoenix took the basket handles in his feet and flew up to the sky.

Soon he disappeared. The rest on the ground all turned to go back home.

When asked what he wanted to do with his life now Philip replied, "I don't know. The Stallions of Beruna have always been my life."

"You should try finding centaur general Orieus," said Tumnus, "He could use horses like you for battle."

"I'll look into it." He looked up at the sky and then back at them.

"Goodbye," he said, "and thank you."

He went his own way and for some reason already looked very different.

The next thing Edmund knew was that where he was standing was beginning to swirl around and around and then he found himself back in Tumnus's room back at Cair Paravel where it was still raining.

The fire had died out and only the paper remained.

Tumnus reached in and folded it up.

"Now do you understand?" asked Tumnus.

"Yes" Edmund said as he sank down into the chair, "So much happened in only one night."

"When we got back we buried Aline in a small part of the forest where her husband and children were. It was the hardest thing for Tezhia to do."

He was quiet for a moment and then said, "When Christian and Maria got Annelise they wrote a letter back saying that would love to take her and that they would try keep Tezhia's promise and as you can see they did say that Annelise and Erik were twins and on their tenth birthday that's when they gave Annelise the locket and told her who she really was. For our safety we couldn't write to each other, but we did know about one another."

"What...what happened to Aline?" asked Edmund.

"She died in childbirth the following year." Tumnus was silent for a moment and then said, "I still miss her. Very much."

Edmund couldn't hold it in any more. He began to cry.

"I love Annelise so much and I feel that now I have lost her."

"You haven't lost her, yet," said Tumnus, "Tezhia prayed that Aslan would shine his light upon Annelise. Perhaps you should ask for the same thing to find her."

He then placed Annelise's locket in his hand.

Edmund folded his hands and bowed his head. In his heart he released his pain, his sorrow, and his anger. He sought forgiveness and mercy. Then he saw it.

"I know where she is," said Edmund looking up.

"You have found your light," Tumnus said, "Now follow it."


	14. Allingham Revisited

**Chapter Thirteen. Alingham Revisited**

Tears fell from Annelise's eyes and mingled with the sweat that rolled down from her forehead. Still she ran and ran.

To where, she didn't know. The dark forest had seemed to engulf her. Her dress was torn, her legs ached, and she was dirty from falling down so many times.

There was little to no light in the forest and the constant fear of running into one of the guards was on her mind.

She had been running for almost thirty minutes and she could hear the guards yelling at her from behind. What would they do to her if they found her? Would she ever see her family again? Why were they even doing this? She was so scared and so very alone.

She wanted her parents, she wanted to go back home, she just wanted to feel safe. As she went deeper into the forest the spaces became smaller and her claustrophobia was getting worse and worse. This was the most horrific nightmare. Would it ever end?

_"I need to hide! Somewhere, but where?"_ she thought frantically.

She slowed down a little bit and looked around. Nothing but trees and large boulders in a never-ending darkness.

Suddenly she heard the sky rumble and then looked up and saw lightning flash silently across the sky.

The lightning was brief, but it showed a small area where there was a small cave just under an old tree. It was a hiding place, there were several actually all over the forest.

Annelise felt her stomach turn sick. Which was worse? Being captured by her own guards or facing her fear of tight spaces? She didn't have long to dwell on it, because she heard the guards shouting from behind.  
Quickly she dashed up to the cave and crouched down low to get under. Closing her eyes tight, she tried to position herself into a safe, but comfortable position. That was hard to do. The area was smaller than she thought and she felt like she was going to throw up.

Then she became still and quiet. She could hear the feet of the guards coming through the forest. She hugged her knees closer to her face. Tears fell from her eyes, but she tried not to let a single sound escape from her.

"Where is she?" came the voice of one, "Do you think she's hiding here in one of these caves?"

Annelise saw his feet walk toward her hiding spot and she could feel her heart beat faster and faster.

_"Don't let them find me! Don't let them find me!"_

"No," came the voice of the head guard, "she's claustrophobic, remember? She wouldn't hide in any of these caves! Come on! She couldn't have gone far!"

And then they all ran off to find her again.

Annelise was still trembling with cold and fear when they left.

The thunder began to rumble louder and the flashing lightning became brighter.

She kept her eyes shut tight. She couldn't come out for fear that one of them might still be there.

While she was in there, she could feel that there was something in there with her. Whatever it was, she had a feeling that it wasn't bad. It had a warm, gentle, safe, feeling. She could also begin to see a bright light even her eyes were closed. And she could hear something soft being said.

"What are you?" she asked in a tight whisper.

"Oh, you know what I am," came a voice so soft and so peaceful that she almost forgot her fears.

"I...I do?"

"Yes, you've known about me your whole life."

"I don't understand. I want to get away from here. From this country! I want my parents, my family, my people, and my home!"

"Open your eyes, Child. This is your home. Narnia is your home and its people are your people."

Annelise did open her eyes, but kept them still. She didn't look around at who was talking to her.

"Narnia will never accept me."

"They will when they know the truth about you."

"How do you know about me? How did you find me?"

"I have known you since before you were born and I have been following you your entire life."

Annelise finally looked up and what she saw was almost indescribable.

It was a light. A soft luminescent that was glowing in the cave. She still had no idea where the voice came from.

"Who are you? What are you?"

" I am everything. This ground you are sitting on came from me. This air you are breathing came from me. I am the creator and maker of Narnia. I am a ruler and a king. And if I were to forget about you for only a second, you would cease to exist."

Annelise thought for a moment and then said, "You...you are...are Aslan?"

"Yes, and you are my beloved," came the gentle reply.

"Me? Why me?"

"For you have never once doubted my promise nor have you ever turn your back on me. You are faithful, Annelise."

"My parents taught me to be faithful to you and your word, actually."

"Yes, I know. The parents you know and love and the ones you don't know and yet you still love."

Annelise's eyes began to fill with tears. Her body shook with pain and anxiety.

"The only thing I know about them is from what my uncle Tumnus has told me. He says they were good people and that they loved my brother and sister very much."

"So much that they gave their lives for them."

"I would have liked to have known them."

"And so you shall. Look into the light."

She did and suddenly everything melted away and she was no longer in the cold black forest. She was in a field. The sun was shining down on her and she could hear birds singing.

"Where am I?"

"In my country," came the gentle voice from behind, but when Annelise turned around she didn't see the light anymore.

Instead she saw a magnificent and beautiful golden lion.

Annelise almost felt as if she was going to faint. She had never seen a lion before, only heard of them.

This lion was probably bigger than her father and he looked like he could be fierce too. And so she just stood there.

Her eyes locked with his, until he finally said, "What do you think of my country?"

When she realized he was talking to her she fumbled around for the words to say.

"I...I thought...Narnia was your country? After all, you said you created it. So... if this isn't Narnia, then what is it?"

Thankfully, for her at least, he only smiled and said, "This is what comes after my country, child."

"I'm not following you," she implied with confusion.

"Have you ever heard of the Shadowlands?"

"Once or twice. My parents talk about them, but only when they think I'm not in the

room. What are they?"

"More like where is it. Well, this is it. All my truest followers come to the Shadowlands when their time in Narnia or even other countries is over. For you know very well, that I have settled many countries."

_"A place where people go when their time is over,"_ Annelise thought, _"What does 'over' mean-Oh No!"_

"You mean this is a place where "Your followers" go when they...when they...die? You mean I'm dead?" she shouted in disbelief.

She felt like she couldn't take any more that night. Or day actually from where she was at the moment.

"Yes," was all the lion said, "This is where my followers go, but rest assured you are not dead. This is but a glimpse of what true eternity in my country will be like."

Now she was really lost.

"So if I'm not dead, but this is a glimpse of what will happen when I do die, why don't you just kill me off now and I can stay here forever and not have to worry about dying anymore. I like it here. I really do."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," said Aslan.

"Then what did you bring me here for? To mark out where I meet you again when I actually do die?"

She honestly believed she heard the lion laugh.

"No, you will not die for a very long time. I will promise you though that when you do die, I will be right here to meet you."

Now, Annelise could feel the tears coming back into her eyes. It was almost like talking to her father. For a moment she was taken back to Terebinthia when she was a small girl (5 or 6 perhaps). She had just had a nightmare and her father was in her room telling her that it was all right for her to go back to sleep, for he would be there when she woke up that night.

She now knew that Aslan was the almighty creature people constantly talked about. She knew she could trust him.

"Why am I here?" she asked. Aslan didn't say anything, but simply breathed on a area in the field.

Immediately the field washed away and a building began to rise up. It came up higher and clearer and then Annelise could see it was a castle.

It wasn't Eyra Caladrin or Cair Paravel or even Anvard.

She had never seen it before. It was beautiful though. And it was settled between two hills that rested in a forest below.

"What is that place?" she asked, "I've never seen it before. Is it in Narnia?"

"Yes, it was, well still is, called Allingham. It was the first castle ever built in Narnia. It was built by your ancestors, King Frank and Queen Helen. And it was their home for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Then the White Witch came (Annelise shuddered) and when she took over Narnia, she took residence at Allingham and made it her home during her one-hundered year winter reign.

After Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy came the spell over Narnia was broken, but the not the spell of Allingham. For it is written in a prophecy that when you are united with a Son of Adam the spell will break and Allingham will restored back to its rightful splendor. You see, you must be kept alive."

Annelise tried to take it all in. It was all so wonderful and confusing! She was meant to marry Edmund! All this time!

"I never knew! My parents never told me. Not even my uncle told me! You mean to tell me that that curse will break when I marry Ed- a Son of Adam?"

"Yes, for because you are the last descendant of King Frank and Queen Helen you are are no mere princess then. You are a Queen. The Queen of Allingham."

"Me? I've been a queen all my life?"

"All your life. Your uncle did not tell you for your own protection. He's been protecting your whole life."

"I know." She smiled and then looked up at him, "Is that all?"

"No."

"What else is left then?"

"A part that is still left unspoken. Come child."

She obediently went and stood before him.

He came up to her and softly said, "What is that you wish for more than anything else in the world?"

She thought for a moment and then said, "If you are the type of person I think you are, I believe you might already know. If you have created this wonderful country and have followed me all the days of my life and have brought me here for such a special purpose, than I am sure that you can see inside my heart and that hear the secrets that are hidden within."

"Very good. You shall have your secret wish." He breathed on the area where

Allingham had been and it disappeared.

Then Annelise could feel a soft breeze blow around her. It felt so good. She closed her eyes and felt its cooling calmness sooth her. When she opened her eyes, she was still in the field, but she could see something coming toward her.

"Go meet it," said Aslan.

She slowly went up toward it. The closer she got to it she realized it was more than one thing. It was several. It was people. She began to walk quicker. The people turned out to look like a man, a woman and a boy and a girl.

Annelise stopped.

It was her family. Her Narnian family. For a brief moment her heart seemed to stop. She began to breathe heavily and tears began to form in her eyes."

"Annelise!" called out the man. Then she ran to them. And she ran right into her father's outstretched arms. He pulled her off of the ground and spun her around. She held on tightly to him, to afraid to let go.

She could hear her mother and her siblings laughing and she began to laugh. When Ulrik put her down she looked up at them. They were all exactly what she had dreamt and more.

"I can't believe it's you," said Ulrik as he lovingly touched her face, "I've waited so long to meet you."

"I don't want to go back!" she cried, "I want to stay here with you!"

"Oh, my darling," said her mother as she wrapped her up in her arms. Annelise had been held like this many times by Maria, her adopted mother, but this was so different. This was the mother who died to give her life. Who prayed that Aslan would shine his light down on her all the days of her life. Then Annelise realized that Maria prayed that same prayer every time she had held her. So maybe she was being held by both mothers her entire life.

When she finally let go, she looked into her mother's face. She was still so beautiful. Her long dark red hair hung around her slender shoulders and her face was soft and graceful. Tezhia bet down and kissed her on her forehead.

"How I wish you could stay here with us," she said, "but there are so many people down there that need you now." Annelise nodded, although several tears slid down her face. Suddenly she realized that her brother and sister were also there.

"Frank, Cailin, is that really, really you?" she said as she ran toward them. Frank was tall with dark curly brown hair and brown eyes. He caught Annelise and hugged her close to him.

Cailin was smaller and had dark red hair and blue eyes. She was pretty, like Tezhia. She turned to her sister and hugged her.

"I can't believe you're here!" she managed to say, "Are you all right?"

"Yes, now I am." It was all so wonderful. She was there with her family. Walking and talking with them. Laughing and crying with them. She didn't want it to end.

"Annelise," said Aslan because he was still with them, "It's time for you to go."

She didn't even protest. Slowly and painfully she said good-bye to her siblings and her parents.

"We will always be with you," said her mother. "Always."

Then everything melted away and she was back in the cave in Narnia. The light began to dim, but she could still hear her mother's promise in the air. _"We will always be with you. Always."_

Annelise brushed away the tears that fell down her face. That was not a dream. It couldn't have been. She then tried to wrestle her way out, when she realized she wasn't afraid anymore. She was no longer afraid of being in a small tight area.

"Now I know that was definitely not a dream," she said to herself.


	15. Love is Many Things

**Chapter Fourteen. Love Is Many Things**

Rain began to pour all over Narnia. Thunder rumbled and lightning crashed, but to Edmund none of it seemed to exist. In his mind he could see exactly the place where he was being led to Annelise, but the problem was how was he to find it? He felt that he had seen the place before. As if in a dream.

He was soaking wet and rain was falling in his eyes. He kept on running and calling out for Annelise. His heart pounded with despair at every unanswered call.

_"Please, please, Aslan! You wouldn't have shown me this vision had she not been alive!"_ he pleaded in despair.

He had been searching for ten minutes, but it felt like ten years.

He was looking across the rainy landscape, when all of a sudden the vision came back to him.

What he had seen when he was back at Cair Paravel with Tumnus had been a black forest with an illuminating light shining right in the middle of it. So he assumed that Annelise was somewhere in the forest. Which one though? Narnia had so many.

He closed his fist tighter around the locket and it seemed somehow to point him in a direction. He followed his instincts and soon found himself at the head of the biggest and darkest forests in Narnia.

How was he ever to find Annelise in here? He tried to remember the vision again. A black forest and a light. All of this seemed so familiar to him, but where had this happened before?

He walked in and began to call out for Annelise. The forest grew thicker and darker. Edmund could barely see where he was going. Soon it was completely dark and he had to rely on his own instincts to get him through.

"Annelise! Annelise!" he called in desperation.

His eyes soon began to adjust to the dark and he carefully maneuvered himself across branches and holes.

The thick earthy smell that came after a good rainfall began to rise out of the ground (it had stopped raining shortly after he went into the forest) and it seemed to fill Edmund with some sense of hope.

While he was walking along some uncertain path, he thought he saw something glimmer ahead of him.

He shook his head as if to wake himself up from a dream.

A dream? A dream!

Now he knew why the vision looked so familiar!

It was the dream he had, the night before he went to Terebinthia! Before he met Annelise! That had been no mere dream, but a vision from Aslan!

He saw the faint glimmer again and ran toward it. As soon as he would reach the place where the light had been he would see it flicker from some other place across the forest.

Each time it glimmered in a different place the brighter and larger it became. Then he heard a voice. A soft gentle voice.

"Edmund, Edmund." It was the voice that had been in his dream!

"Annelise! Annelise!" he called out.

The soft voice called out his name again and he ran faster to where the light was leading him.

Suddenly the light illuminated and became so powerful and so bright he had to shield his eyes away from it.

Then it disappeared.

"Edmund? Is that really you?" he heard a sweet voice say.

He opened his eyes and saw the most beautiful sight.

There was Annelise. Sitting on top of some sort of mound that had a cave underneath. Her face was dirty and so was her hair and dress that was torn and stained with mud, but she looked more beautiful now than he had ever seen her before.

"Annelise," he finally managed to say and then he could say no more.

Annelise climbed down from the mound and slowly walked toward the shamed king.

He was quite a sight too. He was soaking wet and his clothes were also stained with mud.

She shyly reached out a trembling hand and lifted his face up so she could see him. Tears began to pour down her face.

"I'm so sorry," Edmund said in a choked voice.

Then Annelise threw her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her small shivering body.

They held each other for a long time. They both cried, but out of happiness and the joy of finding each other.

"I love you," Edmund whispered to her. Annelise felt her heart begin to swell. She held him tighter and ran her fingers through his thick hair.

"I love you too," she managed to say through her tears.

Then she felt her lips brush gently across his and they began to kiss softly in the forest.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, they broke apart and just held each other in silence.

"Edmund," Annelise said, "The most wonderful thing has happened to me."

And she launched into her story. Edmund sat down on the on one of the trees while he listened to Annelise tell him about the guards and Aslan and the prophecy and finally meeting her family.

When she finished, he just sat there awestruck at what he had just heard.

Annelise was a queen? The White Witch's palace was rightfully hers, but to obtain it she needed to marry him first?

It just seemed too impossible to be true and to wonderful to believe.

All this time, he and Annelise were truly meant to marry! It was almost as if it had planned, but of course it had been planned, by Aslan himself.

"I can't believe it," he said finally, "You also saw your family?"

"Yes," she answered sitting down next to him, "And that was truly the most wonderful part of all."

Edmund then felt something in his hand. He looked down and saw that he still had her locket.

"Annelise," he said getting up, "I know I don't deserve to ask you this, I don't even deserve to ask for your forgiveness."

"Oh, Edmund," she began.

"Wait," he interrupted and then he knelt before her. "I have hurt you, but even more I have hurt myself. In my heart I feel like I cannot rule my country without the joy and love that you have given me from the moment I first met you, because I have loved you, Annelise, from that first moment and have never stopped."

He then took the locket out and unclasped it. Annelise began to cry again as she saw her mother's locket.

"I may be a king and have people bow before me, but even the mightiest kings must bow before the greatest power of all. And that is love. So as I bow before you, all that I ask of you is that you, Annelise Elizabeth Camilla Elvenwood, Princess of Terebinthia and Queen of Allingham will be my wife. The princess of my dreams and the queen of my heart," he said as he clasped the locket onto her neck.

Annelise wrapped her hand around her necklace as she let tears stream down her face.

"Yes, yes, yes! Of course I'll marry you!" she cried as she threw herself into his arms.

He spun her around as they laughed and cried and kissed and do all sorts of odd things when you just get engaged.

"We need to get back to Cair Paravel," said Edmund when he finally put her down.

"Yes, I'm dying to tell my parents now!" Annelise said excitedly as she laced her fingers with Edmund's.  
"How did you find me here of all places?" she asked.

"It's kind of a long story."

"Well, it's a big forest!" And so Edmund started with Tumnus ("Dear Uncle Tumnus!" said Annelise) and the journey in the fireplace and then his vision, the search in the forest, the light, his dream from so long ago and then finally finding her.

Soon they we're finally out of the forest. The night sky was glittering with stars and a large full moon shone down brightly, guiding them toward the palace.

"If I take one more step, I fear I will faint," complained Annelise.

"It's not that far. Do you want me to carry you?" Edmund offered

"No, thank you though, but I can see the lights from the palace."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her.

"Do you believe in coincidence?" she asked.

"I use to," Edmund answered honestly, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I don't think that love is coincidental. Not even our love."

"Love is many things, Anee. One thing it is not, is unplanned."


	16. Allingham Fulfilled

**Chapter Fifteen. Allingham Fulfilled**

Two weeks later, the news was announced in Terebinthia that another one of their princesses would indeed be married, but this time to one of the greatest men in Narnia.

Edmund and Annelise didn't want to wait to long so they decided to marry shortly before Annelise's seventeenth birthday (which was three months away!). Edmund wanted to celebrate her birthday on their honeymoon.

The few short summer months seemed to fly by. With dress fittings, food preparations, wedding rings to be made, decorations, invitations, parties and so much more. Annelise also had to have a crown made for her as well as having a new throne near Edmund put up in the throne room.

In the midst of all that, in mid-July Edmund and Annelise went on something called an engagement tour, which was basically going throughout their countries together and receiving gifts and congratulations from their people. That lasted about a week in each country.

Finally in late August, they found some time to be alone and away from all the planning.  
They went on a walk after supper and headed near the forest area. They talked about the wedding and their soon-to-be-life together. The clouds began to turn gold and pink as the sun went down and a chill began to settle in the air.

Suddenly they heard a rustling in the trees that made them both start.

"Stay here," said Edmund as he began to go into the forest.

Annelise waited for a few seconds when something in the grass seemed to catch her eye. Slowly and cautiously she went over to see what it was.

It was white and when she felt it, it had a smooth exterior. She picked it up and realized that is was an egg. What kind it was she didn't know, but it was a little larger than her hand so she thought it might be a goose or duck egg. She looked around for a nest, but couldn't see one anywhere.

"Edmund!" she called, "Edmund, get over here!"

"What is it?" he said as he came running out of the forest.

"Look," said Annelise holding up the egg for him to see. He took it carefully and examined it.

"What kind is it?"

"Probably a goose egg," said Edmund handing it back to her. "Lucy would probably know. I see no reason in leaving it here now. Since it's been on the ground and we've touched it, the mother, if she's still alive, probably won't want it.

"That's the strange thing," said Annelise as she wrapped the egg up with her shawl, "I can't find a nest anywhere."

They went back to Cair Paravel as quickly and carefully as possible.

"Where's Lucy?" asked Annelise as she soon as she was inside.

"Upstairs in her room reading was the last time I saw her," said a baffled Mrs. Beaver, "What's that you're carrying?" But Annelise had already fled up the stairs holding the egg protectively in her arms.

"Lucy!" she called out as she knocked quickly and then opened the door.

"Lucy!" she called again when she saw an empty bedroom.

"I'm out here on the veranda!" Annelise hurried out and saw Lucy on a porch swing reading a book by the small light left from the sky.

"Look," she said handing Lucy the small bundle.

"Where did you find this?" she asked when she opened it up and took the egg out.

"Just outside the forest. I couldn't find a nest anywhere," Annelise explained, "What kind is it?"

"I can't tell, it's getting to dark out here. Let's go inside." After a few minutes of examining it she came to the conclusion that it was indeed a goose egg.

"What are going to do with it?" asked Lucy giving the egg back to her.

"Oh, I thought you might want to keep it," said Annelise.

"Really! I'd love to!" she said excitedly, "I've always wanted a pet." They went downstairs to ask Peter if it was alright and he said it was fine with him. He told Lucy that if she could hatch it without turning it into a boiled egg, more power to her.

* * *

Guests started to arrive about a week before the wedding. People from just about every country came. Royals and commoners. Humans and beasts. Friends and family all showed up for possibly one of the greatest days in Narnia's long history.

The Anvard trio showed up a couple of days before the wedding and to everyone's surprise there was little to no fighting between any of them. They had all grown out of their silly quarrels and were behaving quite nicely.

Aravis had also become quite the beauty. She walked into a room filled with people and there would be complete silence for a few seconds and then everything would go back to normal. Cor and Corin still looked like one another and their personalities couldn't have been anymore different. Still though, Edmund and Annelise were overjoyed to see their friends again.

* * *

**September 17, 1008**

The day of the wedding came. Edmund shielded the light that shined through his shades in the window.

_"I'm getting married today,"_ he thought as he lay in bed. There was a knock on his door and Mrs. Beaver came in carrying a tray with tea and toast.

"How can anybody possibly eat on their wedding day?" asked Edmund as he looked at his breakfast..

"Oh, come now. Just take it to calm yourself down," Mrs. Beaver advised. After he ate, he got dressed, made his bed, and went downstairs.

People were already up and about talking and laughing. Edmund spotted Annelise in the crowd talking to Lucy and Aravis. She smiled and waved to him then went back to talking.

"Feeling nervous?" came a voice from behind. Edmund turned around and saw Corin smiling mischievously.

"Yes, I am," he answered honestly.

"Father said it's not the ceremony that you have to worry about. It's the wedding night."

"Was the supposed to make me feel better?"

"Come on, relax a little bit! You need to get outside and calm your nerves."

"What do you suggest then?" asked Edmund.

"Let's go horseback riding that should calm you down." So they left the palace, saddled their horses and rode up to the fields.

Corin was right. It did calm Edmund's nerves. The gentle autumn wind, the crisp air, the changing color of the leaves, it was all so beautiful.

"Why don't you have someone?" Edmund asked him.

"Good question," Corin replied, "I guess I just haven't found her yet. Cor has though, well secretly he thinks he has."

"Who?"

"Aravis," was all he said.

"You're joking!" said Edmund.

"It's true! He's been crazy about her for years, but you didn't hear it from me."

"Whatever you say or didn't say," Edmund said. They rode up into the mountains and continued to talk. After about noon they settled their horses for a rest and sat underneath the warm sun.

"Listen, will you do me a favor?" asked Edmund.

"Sure," Corin replied.

"If anything happens to me, promise me you'll well, watch out for Annelise. I mean after all you've known her almost your entire life."

"Well of course I do, but don't you trust Peter to do that?"

"Absolutely, but still you're one of my best friends as well as hers. I just want to know that she'll be taken care of wherever she goes."

"I will," he promised. Edmund nodded and then looked up to the sky.

"We better be getting back," he said. It's probably around 1:00, the wedding starts at 4, and it takes about an hour to get from here to the palace. They saddled up their horses and rode back. When they got back to the front lawn, they saw Susan running up to them.

"Oh good, you're back in time for a quick lunch and then you both need to start getting ready." They stabled their horses and ran to the kitchen to get some lunch and then hurried up to their rooms to change.

* * *

"Why is it that people are so nervous on their wedding day?" Edmund asked Peter who was helping him put his gold wedding cape on.

"I guess it's because you're taking a vow for your life never be the same again," said Peter.

"Well, I hope my life doesn't completely change," Edmund said as positioned his crown on his head.

"I'd like to see you say that when you have your first child." There was a knock on the door and Tumnus peered in.

"If you're ready then you need to go down to the back hallway. That's where your families are beginning to assemble."

"You ready?" asked Peter. Edmund took one last glance into the mirror and nodded his head. He was as ready as he would ever be.

Royal Narnian weddings are different from the weddings in our world. Instead of the groom entering with his groomsmen and then the mothers, bridesmaids, flower girls, ring bearers, and finally the bride and her father, the bride and the groom enter with their families.

They all gather in the back entryway that leads out into a wide walkway where the people waiting outside can greet them. They walk through with their families and then come to the front of the throne room stairs and that's where Aslan waits for them.

The bride and the groom climb the stairs and then they walk with Aslan the rest of the way down the aisle where all the guests are assembled up to the altar. Their families follow behind them and then take their respected seats as soon as they come to the altar.

This was the first royal wedding in Narnia for almost 108 years (not counting Ulrik's and Tezhia's) and so both families were anxious to get it right. No one was more anxious than Edmund when he entered the back entryway where most of the families were gathered.

"Look as how many people…er…subjects, I guess, are out there!" exclaimed Erik who had the door opened a crack to see outside, "I didn't know that a wedding was such a big deal to them."

"Oh, it is," said Susan, "This is first wedding since the White Witch's reign in Narnia. So you can see they have cause to be happy."

"Where's Annelise?" asked Edmund looking around for his bride.

"She and Mother are just taking a few last minute checks on her dress," said Halina who was trying to keep Elias from running off (he was now almost two years old); "She said she'll be down soon."

"Well, I'd wish she'd hurry," griped Erik.

"Be quiet," snapped Sergei.

"Here she comes!" said Lucy excitedly.

Annelise came down the steps in her beautiful gold silk wedding gown that had white and silver designs stitched all over the brocade bodice. Long gold sleeves that were slit up to the shoulder fluttered around her arms and her hair was simply pulled back with two small braids on either side of her head and held with a jeweled silver comb. The rest of her hair just fell down her back.

Everyone literally gasped with delight. Edmund couldn't say anything. When she came near him her face was aglow with delight and anticipation.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Now I am," he replied. He took her small hand in his and then nodded for the servants to open the doors.

As soon as they opened there was a flood of cheers from the Narnians. Edmund and Annelise began to walk down the walkway, smiling and waving to them.

Edmund's family walked behind him and Annelise's family (including Mr. Tumnus) walked behind her. From a distance they could see the mighty shape of Aslan waiting to meet them.

They walked up the stairs to the throne room and then bowed to Aslan when they reached the top.

"Children," he said kindly, "How happy for you I am this day."

He then turned and walked down the aisle. Edmund and Annelise followed. They found the faces of friends and family in the crowd.

Cor, Corin, and Aravis were all sitting with King Lune and his wife and some other family members. They smiled at them and Aravis already had tears in her eyes.

Edmund was glad to see that the entire Halabin family was able to come. They all got special seating up front and all the children stared in awe and wonder at Aslan.

"Mamma," whispered three year old Hamsah,"That is the biggest animal I ever seen in my life!

Edmund and Annelise tried hard not to laugh as they took their places at the altar. Aslan began with welcoming everybody who came and then he talked to Edmund and Annelise and told them to take their vows.

Edmund took a deep breath and then began.

"Before this holy altar, these blessed witnesses, and the creator of all Narnia, I, Edmund James Pevensie, do solemnly promise with all my heart, soul, and mind to take you, Princess Annelise Elizabeth Camilla Elvenwood, to be my cherished wife.

To love, honor, protect, and care for until my last breath upon this earth. Even when forsaken by the entire world, I will vow never to forsake you, not even for a moment. I offer all I have, all I am, and all I can be.

May my joy, my light, and my love be yours. And when it comes time for pain, sorrow, and suffering, may the joy, the light, and the love, which I gave you, be all that I need to survive.

Of all that I have done wrong in this world, let this vow I take be something right. I promise you this not only as a husband who takes you to be my wife, but as a king who takes you to be my queen. Do you except me with all my faults and trials to come, to be your husband and your king?"

"Yes, I will," said Annelise simply through her tears

Edmund took the simple wedding ring from Tumnus (their wedding rings were originally Ulrik's and Tezhia's that he had managed to save) and slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

"This ring," he continued, "Is not a sign that you belong to me, but that you have chosen to live the rest of your days upon this earth with me. May you treasure it with all your heart and live every day with its promise."

Now it was Annelise's turn.

"Before this holy altar, these blessed witnesses and the creator of all Narnia, I, Princess Annelise Elizabeth Camilla Elvenwood, do solemnly promise with all my heart, soul, and mind to take you, Edmund James Pevensie, to be my cherished husband.

To love, honor, protect, and care for until my last breath upon this earth. Even when forsaken by the entire world, I will vow never to forsake you, not even for a moment. I offer all I have, all I am, and all I can be.

May my joy, my light, and my love be yours. And when it comes time for pain, sorrow, and suffering, may the joy, the light, and the love, which I gave you, be all that I need to survive.

Of all that I have done wrong in this world, let this vow I take be something right. I promise you this not only as a wife who takes you to be my husband, but as a princess who will takes you as my king. Do you except me with all my faults and trials to come, to be your wife and your queen?"

"Yes, I will," said Edmund. He looked around and saw several people crying and tried to keep back his own tears.

Annelise took her father's old wedding and for a second looked upon it with wonder, and then she slowly slipped it onto the ring finger of Edmund's left hand.

"This ring is not a sign that you belong to me, but that you have chosen to live the rest of your days upon this earth with me. May you treasure it with all your heart and live every day with its promise."

She then smiled at him through her tears. Edmund held her hands even tighter in his. They hadn't realized how truly wonderful and beautiful the vows were. (And the fact the wedding rings fit too).

"And now," said Aslan, "I have several questions for the both of you. Do you two promise to forsake all temptations that will threaten your love?"

"Yes."

"Do you promise build your home and your marriage on the wisdom and understanding that is not your own, but of the power that created all wisdom and understanding?"

"Yes."

"Do you also promise to take the vows that you have just repeated to each other and live them day to day not only for yourselves, but for your future family as well?"

"Yes."

"Then there is nothing more left to do, then to crown Narnia's new queen."

And with that, Mrs. Beaver came up carrying the most beautiful silver crown on a silk pillow. Annelise let a sharp gasp escape her. It was a little smaller than Edmund's and had tiny jeweled flowers carved all around, but right in the middle was the shape of a star that shone with a brilliant diamond.

"Kneel," said Aslan. Carefully she did so as Edmund took the crown off the pillow and held it above her head.

"To the graceful Anlestia star, I give you Queen Annelise the Beloved."

And then Edmund placed the crown softly on her head. Annelise trembled a little. Not because the crown was heavy, but because she was so overjoyed at the excitement of becoming a queen of Narnia.

"Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen in Narnia. Arise young queen and take your rightful place among your new home," said Aslan.

When she got up she looked at the new throne that was next to Edmund's and had a star insignia carved right above it."  
_"That's my…throne? It's all so…unbelievable._

"Long live Queen Annelise!" came the shouts from everywhere. She laughed and cried. She could have never imagined it being all so wonderful.

Then Edmund bent down and softly pressed his lips towards her's. She accepted it warmly and never wanted it to end. Passion, energy, warmth, and love were all wrapped up into this one kiss.

There was something odd going on outside though; as if something was falling and crashing. People were all getting out of their seats and rushing towards the windows to see what was going on. Edmund and Annelise broke apart for a second and turn to see what was going on.

From the west came a bright light that was shining toward them. The crashing was still continuing and sounded allot like...ice.

They both looked at each other with shock and surprise. The Allingham Curse was breaking!

"When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone unite with King Frank's and Queen Helen's own," began Annelise.

"The evil curse will shatter and crash and Allingham's true light will shine at last," finished Edmund as he bent down to kiss her again.

When the excitement of the broken curse had ended, Edmund and Annelise walked with Aslan out of the throne room to greet their awaiting subjects.

Cheers and wishes were shouted. And flowers were tossed towards them. They then went to the celebration hall for the wedding reception.

Dancing, eating, laughing, and talking filled the air. Edmund gave a beautiful wedding speech to his new wife (that got her crying again) as well as King Christian reading a speech to his beloved daughter.

Time seemed to pass slowly. It seemed as if time didn't even exist on that day. Edmund and Annelise thought so as they held each other while they were dancing.

Aslan was slowly making his way out of the palace when he saw Edmund running up behind him.

"Why are you leaving?" he asked

"You know I cannot stay for long, my son. Are you happy with her?"

"I could die tonight, the happiest man in the world!" he exclaimed

"Good, for you will only have her for a short time, so cherish her." Edmund didn't like the sound of that.

"What do you mean?" he asked. But Aslan simply said, "Go inside and live you new life with her."

And then he disappeared into the darkness.

"Edmund?" came Annelise's voice, "are you all right?" she asked as she put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's something that Aslan said," he explained as he took her hand in his, "I'm not going to lie to you, he said that I would only have you for a short time. What does that mean?"

"You can never know with him," said Annelise even though she too looked scared. "The important thing is that I am here with you right now."

He held her tightly in his arms and gently ran his fingers through her long hair. They stayed there for a few seconds when Annelise pulled away and looked up at him.

"I actually came out here to tell you that the _Splendor Hyaline_ is ready and we can leave for the southern beaches of Narnia anytime."

"Let's go now," said Edmund quickly.

"I was hoping you would say that," Annelise said as they went inside.

When they were ready to go, they said tearful good-byes to their families and friends. It was hard for Annelise especially for being so young and so far away from her family. She hugged her mother several times before bording the boat. Edmund wrapped his arm around her as they waved good-bye.

They got into their large bedroom that was already lit with candles and Annelise sat down on the end of the bed with tired but happy look.

"Edmund," she said, "do you think we could possibly got to Allingham? I mean not now, but one day?"

"Of course we should!" he answered her.

"Oh, possibly for our wedding anniversary?" Annelise said bubbly

"You don't waste time, do you?" Edmund teased as he took her up in his arms.

"Not all the time. Tonight for example," she said.  
"The nights I laid awake for fear of falling asleep and having to wake from my dreams of you," Edmund said lovingly, "But tonight I no longer have to fear of waking in the morning.

"I hope that this night will last an eternity," Annelise whispered to him. And the moon shone upon them lighting their way into their new future together."


	17. Bertil and the Baby

**Chapter Sixteen. Bertil and The Baby**

Edmund and Annelise had a wonderful honeymoon in the southern islands, and also celebrating Annelise's seventeenth birthday.

A couple weeks into their marriage and Annelise had become pregnant. Three months later they were making the official announcement that there would be a new prince or princess arriving in mid June.

As you can imagine all of Narnia (and Terebinthia) were overjoyed. As were the royal family and the royal court and all who lived in Cair Paravel.

Lucy was somewhat of a mother now herself. When she came home after the wedding, she went into her room to find a small little duckling waddling clumsily in the small homemade nest she had made for it. She was thrilled that the duckling was able to hatch and went all over the palace telling the good news; at least it was to her.

She named the goose Bertil, which meant bright. And bright he was. In the coming months he had grown into an elegant white goose that was so smart it began to drive those like Tumnus and Beaver crazy, even Peter was getting a little tired of him.

For being a Narnia animal he wasn't stupid. He was also becoming quite arrogant in some places, but nothing Lucy couldn't handle. She loved him like he was a child more than he was a pet.

Seven months into her pregnancy and Annelise was handling it quite well, along with being a new wife and Narnia's new queen. Her morning sickness came and went, but she was tired all the time and did a good deal of coughing as well.

Edmund would become worried about her, but she would shake it off saying it was perfectly natural for her to be this sick. Although, Edmund still found himself doubting her brave words that had been so casually said.

"I can't believe that in less than two months I'm going to be father," said Edmund to Tumnus one mid April after- noon.

They had just gotten out of a meeting with Peter and the other court members and was watching a very pregnant, but beautiful Annelise walking through the garden with Susan and some other ladies.

"Well Edmund, the birds do it, the bees do it and you prove that a Narnian king can do it. In only a few weeks," replied Tumnus with a hint of teasing.

The young king didn't know whether to smack him or hug him for making such a statement. So he simply said, "Thank you." Tumnus smiled at his awkward thank you and turned away from the window.

"Do remember her mother being pregnant?" asked Edmund as he followed him.

"Oh yes. It was especially hard for Tezhia because the living conditions were so awful, but Ulrik did all he could to provide a safe shelter for her and his children."

After a moment he said, "You remind me a lot of him. You're more like him than you know."

"I'm happy to know that," Edmund said.

* * *

A few weeks later, in May, the family was having an outside picnic, when Sallowpad the raven came swooping down with rather terrible news.

"The minatours of Ettinsmoor have invaded our borders, your Majesty!"

"What!" cried Peter incredulously?

"That's impossible!" put in Edmund.

"I only wish that were true," replied Sallowpad sadly, "but I was flying over the northern mountains when I saw them coming through our borders."

"How many were there?" asked Peter.

"No more than thirty thousand, your Majesty."

Peter's eyes became clouded with confusion. Nobody said anything.

Suddenly he looked straight at Edmund and said, "We are going to need every able bodied male soldier, horse, and bird in Narnia. We're also going to need nyads and nymphs for nurses; you can take care of that, Lucy. And we're going to need them now; for we leave at the end of the week.

The word was sent out and Narnia replied immediately. In only four days, Peter had managed to assemble an army of eighteen thousand soldiers than consisted of himself, Edmund, centaurs, fauns, dwarfs, phoenixes, and many others. Lucy would be in charge of controlling the nurses quarters.

Susan and Mrs. Beaver were staying with Annelise, seeing that she was due any day. Edmund felt guilty leaving her. She had gained little to no weight and she was looking paler and weaker as the days wore on. Her cough was also becoming worse as well.

"Do not worry about me so much," said Annelise as her husband held her for the last time before he was about to leave.

"I'm your husband. I have every rite to worry about you."

"Please, you know that Susan and Mrs. Beaver will take care of me. Although, it will be very strange having only three people in the palace. Well, Bertil will also be here," she added.

"That's a shame, because some of us were considering putting him in the front line," said Edmund with a malicious smile.

"Don't be so cruel! Annelise said in mock admonishment, "It certainly isn't in your nature."

Edmund then bent down and kissed her one last time. He didn't want to let go, but he knew he had to and it was the hardest thing in the world for him to do.

Annelise watched as her husband rode off into war. Tears began to well in her eyes and her heart began to shake.

"Aslan," she prayed silently as he faded out of site, "all I can possibly ask of you, is that you bring my husband home."

And then with a heavy heart she went inside to prepare for the coming of her child.

* * *

Edmund wiped the blood that was on of his sword and looked up to the setting sun. It had been three weeks since he had left Cair Paravel and the minatours had given them a brutal beating that wiped out half of the army.

The battle wasn't over though. They fought for hours and hours until a retreat was called. And now the field where they were camped at was covered with the dead rotting bodies of minatours and Narnians. The minatours had run back into the hills to plan their next attack.

"This is impossible," said Lucy who bandaging up a centaur, "They're not going to let up on us."

"Now, you're starting to sound like Susan," Edmund said.

"No, I'm not!" Lucy protested.

Her anger flared up inside of her, but she went on, "I'm simply stating that this an impossible battle to fight and win! Especially with the few soldiers we have!"

"Then isn't it interesting," countered Edmund, "that that is what I hear **your** sister say every single time we lose a battle!"

"That's enough!" shouted Peter to the both of them. They both stopped and looked over at their tired and battle weary brother.

"My country is being torn apart by these animals and I refuse to see my family be torn apart as well! I don't want to hear any more arguing from you or anyone else in this army! Is that understood?"

"Yes"

"Good," Peter said as he ran his hand through his sweaty hair. At that moment several of the eagles came flying down with news.

"The minatours are planning to head to the Fords of Beruna," said Lodrik, "Tomorrow afternoon is when they leave."

"Thank you, very much," said Peter, a glimmer of hope came to his face.

"Your Majesty," continued Lodrik, "you wrote to King Lune almost two weeks ago. Why is he not here?"

"I do not know" Peter said, "but I know that he will not fail us."

"Well," Beaver said, I really wish he would hurry."

* * *

Annelise tossed and turned in her bed. Her head burned and her mind was plagued with horrific nightmares of Edmund on the battlefield. She had a raging fever that had started a few days after Edmund left.

Each day it had gotten worse and worse. She coughed so much that she couldn't eat or sleep. She was confined up in her room for days and nights. It was all like an endless nightmare to her.

She desperately called out for her husband. Her worry for him increased every minute. Their child was due any day and she had no strength left to deliver.

Mrs. Beaver and Susan were doing all they could, but it was impossible with only the two of them to attend her. Lucy had taken her magic cordial with her, so they couldn't heal her at all. Their hope was slowly dying- and so was Annelise.

Susan cooled her sister-in-law's forehead with a damp rag. Her own forehead was sweaty with worry and anxiety. It was almost morning and she had been up most of the night tending to Annelise.

She wanted to write to Edmund, but what good would that do? She felt hot tears roll down her face as she saw Annelise's eyes gaze into a vast invisible world.  
_"We're losing her! We're losing her! _she thought. She looked over to the other side of the bed and saw Mrs. Beaver holding Annelise's hand.

"Not like this," she said softly, "It shouldn't be like this."

Susan didn't know if Mrs. Beaver was talking to herself or to one of the women, but her strong eyes that were always so full of confidence were slowly dimming.

"What are we going to do?" asked Susan

"Do?" Mrs. Beaver said looking up at her, "The only thing we can do, child. Hope and pray. And let Aslan's plan take his course.

"Aslan," said Susan harshly, "Why would he care?"

"Susan!" said Mr. Beaver in shock, "How could you say that?"

"Aslan could save her if he really cared! But he doesn't! He doesn't care! And to make it even worse, he sends her husband out on the battlefield when he should be here with his wife! Annelise would probably be much better if were here with her!"

Susan felt herself tremble and shake with her sudden outburst. Her mind wanted those words to be true, but deep inside her soul and conscience she knew they were false.

"Now you listen, child," said Mrs. Beaver with the little strength she had left, "Aslan has never, never abandoned any of his children! Why look at how he has always taken care of her from the moment she was born! If he could create this wonderful country, overcome death and defeat the White Witch, save your brother from her wrath, and do so many other miraculous things, then when would you think he would leave her now?"

Susan tried to take in what she had just heard. Mrs. Beaver was right, but still her anger boiled inside of her.

"If we lose her," she said in a tight whisper, "then we lose Edmund as well." Mrs. Beaver's shoulders trembled. Her eyes were swimming with tears. She reached and took Susan's small hand in her own well worn paw.

"Remember, the plan we may have for her is not the plan of the one who rules her." She let go of Susan's hand, but still continued to look into her pale blue eyes.

"You need rest. Go outside; it's cool out there and you will find comfort."

Susan didn't argue. She didn't have the will to. She wiped her face with a towel and went out onto the balcony.

It was still dark, but a light was beginning to shine through the mountains and trees. A cool spring breeze blew around her.

Susan sat down on the balcony railing and contemplated on Mrs. Beaver's words.

She looked up at the stars that were slowly starting to disappear. She saw the Anlestia star that was beginning to fade over the Great Western Wood.

Fading into an unknown world, but did not Aslan create that and all the other stars with it? If surely the stars have a place to go when their work is done, then would not Aslan have created a place for those who served him faithfully to go to as well?

Mrs. Beaver was right. Even though Annelise lay there dying, Aslan had a place for her with him, in his country. She was a chosen one, like Tumnus said. She had been to his country. Walked on its ground; breathed its air. She had talked with Aslan and had witnessed his love and mercy.

All Susan had to do was trust him and he would take it from there.

"Aslan," she prayed softly, "forgive me for my anger and fear. You have never abandoned Annelise, not even once.

You save her from the White Witch and her wolves when she was a newborn; you were the wind underneath the wings of the phoenix that carried her to Terebinthia.

You provided her with a wonderful family and home that raised and taught her of your goodness.

She saved our country from evil not once, but twice because you were with her.

You led her to Edmund. You opened up his carefully guarded heart and let her love drown his fear and doubt and shame.

You've let his dreams become her dreams as well. You've have done so much for both of them.

And now, I ask you that if it is your plan to take her back home with you and her family...please give us, all of us, the strength to bear it. Amen.

She opened her eyes and let the tears fall. She surrendered to the awesome and mysterious power of Aslan.

Her shoulders trembled and her heart pounded. She felt a hand (or paw) on her shoulder and looked up and saw Mrs. Beaver. They embraced one another. Combining what little strength they had left.

The sun was just coming over the horizon and they broke apart to watch it. Some birds were flying across it the trees in a beautiful V pattern. The sun's light glistened on their glossy white wings.

Suddenly Susan stood up, her face was pale and frightened, but in her eyes was a hint of...hope.

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Beaver.

Susan looked at her and whispered one thing, "Bertil."


	18. Breath of Life

**Chapter Seventeen. Breath of Life**

"Let me see if I understand you correctly, Your Highness. You want me to fly over to the Fords of Beruna in the midst of a war, find Lucy, gather her cordial, and fly back before nightfall?" asked Bertil

"That's exactly it, Bertil," said Susan as she tied a pouch onto his neck that held a vial for the cordial.

"That's impossible!" reasoned Bertil

"Honestly Bertil! If I of all people believe that there is hope, then there is definitely hope! Have a little trust in yourself for once," scorned Susan.

"Edmund," came Annelise's faint voice from inside her room. Bertil looked at Susan; his eyes full of concern.

"Please Bertil," she pleaded.

"Of course I'll go," he said, "Just please, do one thing?"  
"Anything."

"Pray. Pray to Aslan like you've never prayed before."

"I pray for Annelise every second."

"Not for Annelise. For me. If those minatours see me in the sky, I could be tonight's supper."

"Bertil, get on with it!" snapped Susan

"Alright!" And he took off into the sunrise.

"What hope I had for this, is beginning to fade quickly," Susan said as Mrs. Beaver came out onto the veranda.

"Well, remember that in Aslan's plans, there are no coincidences."

"Everything happens for a reason," Susan said.

* * *

Edmund had never felt so defeated in his entire life. No matter how hard Narnia fought, the minatours just kept coming and coming. He was so weary and in his heart burned a constant anxiousness for Annelise. Something was wrong. He didn't know what is was, but every time he was hit by a minatour he could almost feel that Annelise was in the same pain.

"It would be nice in the Stallions of Beruna could come," said Philip who was carrying Edmund.

"I thought they hated the monarchy," said Edmund as he put his sword into a minatour's chest.

"When it comes to animals, like the minatours, invading their territory, you are the least of their problems. Hold on!" Edmund grasped Philip's reigns and bent down as his horse began to run at breakneck speed and threw down several unarmed minatours in the process.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I think so," panted Edmund, "Oh no, there's more coming from the west!"

"We fight until we win," Philip said honorably.

"Or until we die! I hope Annelise is alright." And they went out to fight their failing battle.

* * *

Annelise couldn't believe what she saw.

She was in a cold damp prison made from ice. She saw her Narnian family. All of them were starving and they were reaching and calling out to her.

She could see them, but was unable to reach them. She screamed and cried, trying desperately to reach them.

Then the White Witch appeared. Tall, cruel, and unmerciful. She saw the witch take out a long ice wand and murder every member of her family, one by one.

And then the witch turned to her and raised her wand to strike. Annelise screamed and woke up from her nightmare.

"Not another one!" said Susan as she rushing to her sister-in-law's side.

She moved a damp cloth across her head and spoke softly to her.

The room was dark even though it was early afternoon. The curtains had been drawn closed to keep the light out.

Mrs. Beaver stayed in the room most of the time while Susan kept a close watch for Bertil, but she was so exhausted the Susan told her to get some rest.

"Edmund, where are you? Where are you?" Annelise mumbled in her sleep.

"He'll come," said Susan, "He'll come."

* * *

Bertil had been flying for well around three hours with only a few minutes to rest his wings.

He didn't rest long though. His mind was constantly on the goal to save his queen. An impossible task. Him; a goose trying to save a queen.

"Almost there," he thought as he saw the fords beginning to rise out of the distance.

When he came close to the battlefield he flew higher so as to say out of sight.

"Lucy, she must be somewhere."

He searched over the field and saw King Edmund and King Peter and several others fighting.

He flew over them and continued to search. Then about two miles away from the field, he saw the nurses' camp.

He searched frantically for Lucy. There were nymphs and female centaurs running all over, caring for wounded soldiers, bringing water, setting up beds, making bandages, and gathering and cleaning weapons.

"Queen Lucy! Where should we put this soldier! " cried a young nymph and she sat next to a wounded solder who had a deep chest would, "We have no more beds!"

The Bertil saw Lucy. She came running toward the wounded soldier, her hands were stained with blood and forehead dripped with sweat.

In her hand she held the precious life-saving cordial. She knelt down next to the soldier and lifted the cordial to his lips.

"Listen," she said to the nymph, "If we are out of beds, get some extra sheets to lay on the ground and put the soldiers there."

"Yes, your majesty," said the nymph and went to do as she was told.

"Quack! Lucy!" She looked around in confusion and then Bertil flew down in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I don't have time," he explained quickly, "Queen Annelise is sick and she is dying. She's due to give birth, but has no strength for it. If we had but a few drops of your cordial, she could be saved."

Lucy felt numb inside. As if what she had heard was a dream, but she took the vial out of the pouch and carefully poured some of the cordial into it. She also gave some to Bertil to rejuvenate his strength.

Don't tell King Edmund," said Bertil before he left, "It'll kill him." Lucy nodded and then watched as he took off into the sky.

"Aslan," she prayed, "May your breath be the wind beneath his wings."

* * *

"Your Majesty, call a retreat! We cannot win!" cried Beaver.

"I beg to listen to him," said Orieus, "There's far to many!"

"No! I will not call a retreat!" yelled Peter, "Even if I must die, I will die defending my country!"

Tumnus watched his weary king fought. He watched as he saw his friends be taken down by these inhuman beasts. This couldn't happen. Where was Aslan? Where was he?"

"Aslan, why? Why are you allowing your country to fall? Your people are crying out for you. Please, hear them. Send us a sign, send us a miracle! Lets us know that you are hear!" But as he looked around, he saw no miracle. Only agony, suffering and death.

"What is that?" asked Edmund as pointed up to the sky. They all looked up and saw a white bird high in the sky, flying above them toward the mountains. And as they watched him fly, they felt as if some sense of life was breathed into them.

"Your Majesty look!" cried a centaur pointing in the direction to where the bird was going. As he flew over the mountains and disappeared, arising from the top of the mountains came an army. An army of men.

"It's King Lune!" cried Beaver, "He made it!" The King made a charge down the mountain with his never ending army of men. Minatours were scattered in all directions, but they were immediately caught.

Cor and Corin rode out together and began to slay the creatures. Their faces full of determination and victory. Edmund and Peter picked up their swords and began to fight. Peter, for his country. Edmund, for his wife and unborn child.

Victory began to arise in the Narnians as the Archanlanders fought with them. And within two hours the battle was won. The minatours were defeated and those still living and uncaught scattered back to their land.

Peter and Lune embraced one another and their armies cheered them on. Edmund could feel tears well up in his eyes as he thought of Annelise.

"I'm coming home, Anee. I'm coming home."

* * *

Bertil's wings felt like lead. Ever since he had left the battle at the fords, he had flown without stopping.

It was almost evening and he could see the sun going down. Annelise could be dead by the time he got there. He flew on. His head began to swim and the wind was blowing against him.

"Aslan, I know I'm a pain in the neck, but...I really need your help right now."

Then he felt the wind blow under his wings making them light, as if he hadn't been flying at all. He gained speed and soon saw Cair Paravel in the distance.

"Only Aslan can do what we think impossible."

* * *

Tears rolled down Susan's face as she held Annelise's hand. Her face was white and her breathing was so soft and slow, it was almost nonexistent. Outside, the sun was going down and Bertil still had not returned.

"Go out and wait for him," said Mrs. Beaver, "I'll stay with her." Susan nodded and left the room.

The most likely place for Bertil to return was probably the garden so she went down and waited.

The shadows grew long and the air cold.

Susan looked into the sunset and watched slowly disappear. She then closed her eyes and her thoughts trailed to Annelise, to her unborn child. If she died, the child died with her. And so did Edmund.

When she opened her eyes, she could see something in the distance. It was hard to distinguish, but it was coming toward the palace.

"Hurry! Hurry!" whispered Susan. Bertil looked for the queen and saw her down in the garden. He flew down by where she was sitting. Susan immediately took the pouch off of his neck and took the vial out.

"Well down," she congratulated Bertil. He was to exhausted to speak.

"Queen Susan!," screamed Mrs. Beaver, "Run!"

Susan ran out of the garden and into the empty palace. Up the stairs she went her heart racing and her mind spinning.

She finally made it to Annelise's room and flung open the door.

When she got to her bed though, Mrs. Beaver was sobbing in her paws. Annelise's chest was still and motionless and her eyes closed.

"Aslan has brought us this far! He will not give up on her now!" She opened up the vial and poured the cordial into Annelise's cold mouth.

"And now we wait," Susan said, "For Aslan to take her the rest of the way."


	19. The Western Star

**Chapter Eighteen. The Western Star**

Edmund's heart began to pound in his chest as he saw Cair Paravel arising from the distance. Annelise was there and hopefully his newborn child.

It was almost sunset and the army had been traveling for almost a week. Everybody was anxious to get home.

"In about two hours we should be there," said Peter who seemed to read his mind. Edmund snapped back to reality.

"You don't think anything bad happened while I was gone, do you? I mean with her delivering and everything. She was so sick when we left and I haven't been able to write to her at all."

"I'm sure she's fine," Peter said.

Lucy kept silent as she listened to them. She could feel her chest beginning to heave with the bitter secret that Bertil had shared with her.

If she had told Edmund, than their victory over the minatours would have been ruined, but if Edmund got to Cair Paravel and found his wife and his child dead-would he hold her responsible for not telling him and warning him?

She tried to stop the tears that formed in her eyes, but in her heart, she already was crying.

* * *

Never had the palace seemed so huge to Edmund as it did now. Annelise could be anywhere, in any room.

"Annelise!" he called as soon as he got inside, "I'm home! Anee!"

Suddenly Mrs. Beaver came down the stairs. At the sight of them, she burst into crying and ran into Mr. Beaver's arms.

"Where's...," began Edmund, but she just pointed to the top of the stairs.

"Oh, no, no, no," groaned Lucy.

"What is it that you know of?" demanded Edmund, but he didn't even wait for a reply.

He ran to the top of the stairs and into the part of the castle where he and Annelise lived.

Peter went running after him, followed closely by Lucy.

When Edmund reached the door to his room, he saw Susan sitting in the windowsill crying in her hands. She looked up at him, her face filled with sorrow and pain. Edmund felt an icy cold chill run down his spine, freezing his entire body. He looked at the door the led into his room.

Why go in there when he knew what horror would face him?

Why open the door and release the sorrow and the suffering that lay within?

Why did this have to happen?

"Go...go...in," said Susan in a choked voice.

Peter and Lucy both knelt down beside, their faces colorless and pale.

Life was a risk and it was one that he would have to take.

Slowly he opened the door and quickly closed it

. The room was dark, because the blinds were closed and it was so cold.

He walked over to the bed where Annelise lay. Her face was almost completely white. And her dark hair hung down one side of her shoulder.

He couldn't detect any sign of breathing at all. In spite of that fact, she looked so beautiful. She lay there gently as if she was in a pleasant dream.

She was holding a small bundle beside her that was wrapped in white. He didn't have the strength to even open it.

Tears filled in his eyes as he felt that his heart was being broken in two. One for his wife; the other for his child.

He remembered Aslan's words. Was this what he meant? That his wife would die giving life, only to have that life die as well? That she would die without him? That he would never be able to hold her and say goodbye to her?

Then the tears just broke loose and raged down his face. He couldn't hold it in. He could no longer hold the pain and the anguish inside of him.

He ran his fingers through her dark hair and stroked her lovely face where his tears fell.

Everything was so dark and so blurry. His mind felt clouded and disoriented. He took her hand and knelt by her bed.

Gently he laid his head down next to her and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

Dreams are an odd thing. Sometimes they can be so bizarre that you automatically know you're having them without even having to wake up.

But other times, they are so real that you are almost in a limbo. Unable to decipher fantasy from reality. That is what Edmund was in.

After he fell asleep, he found himself in a wide open field. It was during the evening and the sun was casting long shadows across the ground.

In the distance Edmund could see Annelise twirling playfully in the wind. Her long dark hair blew softly around her shoulders and she was laughing. She wore a long lavender gown that swirled around her small frame as she spun around, oblivious to who was watching.

Then she stopped as she saw him coming toward her. Then she began to run. Faster and faster she ran. Right into Edmund's outstretched arms and he lifted her up and swung her around.

She laughed joyously. When he put her down, he looked into her soft brown eyes.

"Edmund," she whispered to him, "Edmund."

It was getting darker and Annelise turned and began to walk away. Edmund watched her, but he was unable to follow her.

"Edmund, Edmund," he heard her say again.

Her small hand began to leave his. She was beginning to fade away. He wanted to follow her, but he knew it was a dream.

She would fade into the Shadowlands and he would wake up in Narnia, in the real world.

"Edmund, wake up."

Then it was completely black.

The field, the sun, and Annelise disappeared.

Edmund kept his eyes closed though, wanting to hold on to that dream, that memory.

The strange thing was, he could still hear Annelise saying his name. Only her voice was clearer and closer.

"Edmund, wake up."

Slowly he opened his eyes.

The room wasn't dark anymore. He could see a soft glow from a candle. He felt somebody stroking his hair

. Then he looked up and he saw the gentle face of Annelise smiling down at him. Was this another dream? Or was it real?

"Oh Edmund, I'm so glad you're home!" Annelise said.

"You're," he began, "How...I...I don't understand?" he said in utter confusion.

He got up and sat on the bed to look at her. She was still pale, but her eyes were open and she was breathing, slowly and heavily, but still breathing all the same.

"I was sick," she began, "And I came very close to dying. But Susan sent Bertil out to the battlefront to find Lucy and collect some of her cordial. He got back here just in time. I was able to give birth. To your son.

"My...my...son?" Edmund said in disbelief as he looked at the bundle in her arms.

Annelise pulled down the covers and inside was a beautiful baby that was sleeping softly and peacefully. He was little and had a shock of jet black hair. His face was a reddish pink color and his hands were in tight little fists.

Annelise handed him over to her husband. Edmund carefully put the little bundle into his arms. Looking at him as if he was a rare jewel.

"When was he born?" he asked unable to take his eyes off of him.

"Around two in the morning, at least that's what I was able to gather. It wasn't a hard birth though."

"Good. Oh, does he have a name yet?" Edmund asked.

"Well, I was maybe thinking of the name, Culrik. A combination of my father's names, Ulrik, my biological father and Christian, my adoptive father. And then your name and maybe Uncle Tumnus?"

"Prince Culrik Edmund Tumnus of Narnia," said Edmund, "Yes, that will do very well."

He put the baby back into Annelise's arms. The candlelight glowed onto her face, illuminating her soft features as she smiled down at her baby.

Edmund climbed onto the bed next to her and wrapped his arms gently around her and his new son.

Annelise looked up at him and then, after a moment, they began to kiss one another. It was as if they had been away from each other for an eternity. Nothing else in the room or in the world for that matter seemed to exist, but for this small family unit.

After a few minutes, there was a knock on the door. When they said come in, Peter, Susan, Lucy, Tumnus and the Beavers all piled in.

"Oh, we thought you were dead when we saw Susan and Mrs. Beaver crying!" said Tumnus in an unusual apprehensive tone.

"We were crying, because we so happy. If that makes any sense," Susan said.

"No, it really doesn't," said Lucy, "Can we see the baby?" And they all gathered around the little bed to admire the new little prince.

"I wonder if Bertil was that bird we saw fly over the battlefield, just before King Lune arrived," Tumnus said as he reluctantly handed the baby over to Lucy.

"Well, if it was," said Peter, "It's nice to know that the bird was good for something."

"Will, you please get off his back, for once," Lucy said, "He saved Annelise and Culrik's life!"

"Then that's probably the only thing that's keeping him from becoming the main course for Christmas supper this year," Peter said.

"And anyway, now that we're back, he's going to go back to the same arrogant fluff of feathers he was before we left," concluded Edmund.

"You just really don't know a good heart when you see one," seethed Lucy.

Annelise laughed at the argument. She was so glad to have them all back. Susan had opened the drapes to reveal a sky full of twinkling stars.

"Look!" she said, breaking the Bertil argument.

They all came over to the window and saw the most wondrous sight. The Anlestia star was glowing with a light that no one had ever seen before.

It shown clearly over the Great Western Woods. Narnia's Western Star seemed to be rejoicing in some happy event.

Just like the family was over the miraculous event that had taken place in that small room. The miracle of life.


	20. Culrik, Lura, and Martin

**Chapter Nineteen. Culrik, Lura, and Martin**

Within weeks, all of Narnia had grown to love their new little prince. Happy and curious and always into everything; he soon became the life of Cair Paravel and joy of his family.

Because of the timing of his birth, Annelise and Edmund had to delay their trip to Allingham and instead spend their first anniversary in Narnia.

The next year they were able to go, but not without a few tears of leaving their year old son. They knew he would be safe, but it was the first time he would be away from them.

When they walked into Allingham, it was as if the White Witch had never resided there. Edmund of all people would have picked up on that that immediately.

There were no icy hallways and stairwells. No stone statues or wolves. There was no longer a residing fear that had crept into his heart when he first came there.

Now it was beautiful. A small palace the rested between to hills and was hidden by hundreds of trees.

"It's so beautiful," said Annelise after she and Edmund walked in.

"Yes," replied Edmund, "And to think that it was once all ice."

There was no one there but them, but the palace was very clean and well taken care of. Autumn leaves fell into the courtyard and through the open windows.

Portraits of Annelise's ancestors (including King Frank and Queen Helen) lined the walls. It was be no means as large as Cair Paravel, but had a certain warmth and comfort about it.

"I think we should all try and come up here, every autumn, and not just for our anniversary, but your family as well," Annelise said as she took Edmund's arm, "I can't believe that this is all mine! I mean _ours_."

They were walking on one of the balconies looking down into the courtyard.

"The only thing that's missing, though, is our son." Edmund took her hand and kissed it.

"You know he'll be taken care of and we're only going to be here a week."

"Yes, you're right, "said Annelise, "I should stop worrying. Even though Lucy is his nanny."

* * *

Their week in Allingham and The Western Woods was wonderful. They explored the palace and met many Narnian creatures. They also saw the old houses of the Beavers and Mr. Tumnus.

When it all came to an end they were sad to leave, but were anxious to get back to their son.

Before they left, Annelise and Edmund found a trail that led from Tumnus's house into a small clearing in the woods. And what they found there was completely unexpected. A large white stone that had the engraving:

**The last royal family of Narnia**  
**May they rest forever in the name of Aslan.**

"I can't believe it," said Annelise after a moment, "That this is my family. Why is it that I lived, while they died?"

Tears rolled down her face. She felt hot with anxiety and regret. Edmund wrapped his arms around her as she cried. She had lost so much and felt so guilty that it was her that survived and no one else.

"You cannot dwell on the past, Annelise," he said as she looked up at him, "All you can do is think about the future."

She smiled, even through her tears. He bent and kissed her briefly and then helped her up.

"I'm glad I came here, now. I want to show our children this in years to come."

"They will never be fogotten," said Edmund.

A year later, Annelise gave birth to a daughter. Princess Lura Tezhia Maria arrived on December 14, 1011. Pretty and already a royal flirt with her father; she was the perfect Christmas present for Narnia.

Culrik took to his new little sister immediately. Insisting on calling her "Baby Stitser" instead of Lura, he spent every waking moment by his mother's side in fascination of the new little princess.

Annelise's family in Terebinthia was growing as well. Halina had two daughters in the time that her sister had been gone, Sergei had married that summer and Nikolous and Erik were both in serious relationships.

"This is all happening so fast," Annelise said as she closed her most recent letter from her sister.

"What is?" asked Edmund as he gently rocked his newborn daughter to sleep.

It was three days until Christmas and Edmund and Annelise were in the nursury with their two children, reading Christmas letters from family and friends.

"Life. Ever since we were married, I feel that my life has just become faster and faster. Edmund, I'm only twenty! Should I really be feeling this way?"

Edmund laughed, "We all start feeling that way when we get older. You just need to start appreciating every moment and memory of your life."

At that moment, Culrik came toddling in carrying Edmund's large leather bound journal that Father Christmas had given him so many years before.

"Read me story," he demanded sweetly as he placed the book in his father's lap.

Annelise smiled as Edmund gave Lura back to her and then picked his son up and put him on his lap.

It was wonderful seeing them together, especially because Culrik was looking more and more like his father everyday, with his long curly black hair and large black eyes.

Edmund opened up to the first story and started to read,

_"I remember when first coming into this country, I would have never imagined that I would meet a witch, or a faun or talking beavers or a majestic lion. I never imagined that I would fight in a battle and become king of this wonderful country. I never imagined any of it.  
_

_It all started one day, when my little sister, Lucy, wanted to play hide-and-go-seek..."_

* * *

The following summer, the royal family of Anvard came for a visit. It was wonderful not to hear the constant bickering between Aravis, Cor, and Corin. Probably because they were now full grown adults.

Aravis and Cor were actually getting along very well. People were beginning to suspect a blossoming relationship, but it never got past speculation.

Of course there was an occasional argument between them, but it was resolved within minutes. It was very strange indeed.

Annelise and Aravis were out in one of the gardens playing with seven month old Lura, when Aravis approached the subject.

"How did you know you were in love with Edmund?" she asked.

Annelise looked at her for a second. She tried to think back at when she had first fallen in love, but couldn't find an exact time in the past when it had occurred.

"I don't really know," she answered, "It just happened." After a few seconds she said,

"Why do you ask?"

"Well...I was just wondering, that's all," she said quickly.

"I think it's different with everybody," Annelise said after a while, "It depends on the person and when they're finally able to realize that they are really in love."

"I see," said Aravis.

Annelise dropped the subject, but brought it back later when she and Edmund were getting ready for bed that night.

"I wouldn't worry about it," he said casually.

"Ed, really," began Annelise, but Edmund cut gently cut her off.

"Let them handle it. Don't worry." Annelise sighed softly and sat down on the bed. She felt dizzy and very hot.

"Are you alright?" Edmund asked a little anxiously.

He pulled her close to him and looked her over as if making sure she wasn't hurt.

"I'm fine," she said, "I think I might be pregnant. Again."

She smiled sweetly at her husband's surprised face. He kissed the top of her forehead and whispered, "I knew I was in love with you the moment I first saw you. And I haven't stopped loving you since."

* * *

On January 24, 1012, Prince Martin Peter Franklin came into the royal family. "Wittle Bwover," Lura said as she held her new brother for the first time. He was a fussy child and kept his parents up, but most of the time he was sweet and charming.

Edmund and Annelise threw themselves into raising their children. They were now their focal points, their precious flowers, they were their everything.

There were ups and downs, tears and laughter. Times for punishment and times for rewards.

Annelise soon began to school Culrik. She loved teaching him and looked forward to teaching his siblings too.

Edmund tried very hard to balance his duties as husband, father and king. Whenever he had to leave the country, he tried to make the trip as short as possible so he could get home to his real duties.

He loved to play and laugh with them. They came to him constantly, whatever the problem was.

The children were also the especial pets of their Narnian aunts and uncles, who were also their godparents.

Being the only children in the palace it was hard to keep them from being spoiled. They were mischief and got into a fair share of trouble too. But it was always something that the family could laugh about later.

A few years went by and the whole royal family was at Allingham spending a few weeks of a well deserved autumn break.

It wasn't even daybreak when Annelise began to sleepily detect the already familiar footsteps of her children.

"This is a dream," she groaned as she curled up next to Edmund.

"You mean to tell me that after almost seven years, you're still not use to waking up like this?" he asked.

"It was wistful thinking," she replied, "but honestly Edmund, it's probably not even six in the morning. What could they possibly be up this early for when they're on holiday?"

Suddenly, the door opened and in slipped three little figures that crawled onto their parents beds.

"Mummy, Daddy!" whispered Lura, "Wake up!"

"There's a stag! A white stag!" said Culrik excitedly

"Stag!" repeated little Martin.

"What?" said Edmund

"Where did you hear about stag?" Annelise said sitting up.

"From Uncle Tumnus!" explained Culrik, "He says that there is a white stag, here in the Western Woods!"


	21. The Lion In the Woods

**Chapter Twenty. The Lion In The Woods**

"You girls stay here and I'll hunt the stag myself," joked Edmund as he saddled Philip.

"Oh, please Ed!" scoffed Lucy, "We can hunt just as well as you and Peter can!"

"Maybe better," put in Susan.

"Well, you're not going to get anything if you don't leave now," Annelise said.

She would have gone with them, but she felt it would be better to stay with her children. Edmund bent down and said goodbye to each of them.

"Please Daddy! Can't I come with you?" begged Culrik.

"No, I need you to take care of things here while we're gone."

"It's not fair," the little prince said under his breath.

Edmund smiled as he stood up to hug Annelise. She seemed to hold him tighter than usual. He didn't understand why though.

"Come home soon," she whispered to him.

"I'll will. I love you," he said as he softly kissed her and then mounted his horse.

"Children, be good."

"Bye Daddy!"

"Goodbye Uncle Peter!"

"Goodbye Aunt Susan; goodbye Aunt Lucy!" they called out.

Edmund turned around briefly to wave goodbye to his family. Annelise waved to him. She took in his handsome face, his charming smile, everything about him that made her love him.

She would never see him again.

* * *

It was mid afternoon and they still hadn't return. Annelise was getting anxious. She kept on checking on the window in hopes that she would see them riding up to the palace.

The children didn't seem to mind; they played contentedly near their mother. Nobody else in the palace seemed bothered either.

The she saw it. The image coming up the road that she always dreaded, but never believed would happen. Four horses with no riders walking toward the palace.

Quickly she ran out of the room and out of the palace.

"Where are they?" she said as she came up to them, "Where's my husband and the others?"

"Your Majesty," said Philip, his eyes full of sadness, "They're gone."

"Gone?" said Annelise in confusion, "How can that be? Were they attacked or kidnapped?"

"No, they stopped at a lamppost and ran into a thick part of the woods. We waited for them, but they never came out.

We didn't hear any screams or struggles. As a matter of fact, we didn't hear anything. We went all around, looking and calling for them. They never came back."

Annelise tried to take it all in. How could they just have disappeared?

"Philip, will you take me to these woods?"

"Yes." She climbed onto his back and rode off.

* * *

"This is where we stopped," said Philip when he halted to the lamppost. Annelise dismounted and stared at it.

"How strange," she said to herself.

Although, she did remember Edmund mentioning something about a lamppost in the woods in the stories that he read to their children.

"And that's where they ran to," Philip said nodding his head to a part of the woods that was directly across from them. "They were talking about a place called spareoom. Does it mean anything to you?"

"It might. Stay here; I'll be back soon."

She walked where Philip had directed her. There was nothing different or unique about it. It just looked like a regular wood.

"If you are looking for your husband, I'm afraid you will not find him or his brother or sisters here."

Annelise turned around and there she saw Aslan standing there in the woods. Tears began to stream down her face and her heart trembled.

"Where is he?" she simply asked.

"Back in his own world."

"His own world? He belongs in this world! With me and our children!"

"Calm down," said Aslan.

"You expect me to calm down when my husband, my best friend, my lover, the father of my children, my king, is gone?" she shouted, "You did this, didn't you? You took him away from me!"

"Who gave him to you in the first place?" asked Aslan, "Who led him to you?

"Well...you did," she answered quietly.

"Yes, and do you not think that if I have the power to give that I do not also have the power to take away?"

"But why? Why is he gone? Why did he have to go back and leave me?"

"Because his time in Narnia was through; it was time for him to go back."

"I don't understand."

"On your wedding night, I told him that he would only have you for a short time. You would only have him for a short time. When he goes back to his own world only a second would have passed. He will be the same twelve year boy he was when he first came here."

"I still don't understand, but will he remember me or our children?"

"For a while or as long as he still believes in Narnia."

"What will happen to me and my children? Do I stay here or go back to Terebinthia?"

"Do not worry so. I have always taken care of and I will continue to. Now go back tell your children that their father is gone, but they may see him again."

"They may?" Annelise asked.

"You saw you parents again. Did you not?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then they will too."

Annelise walked up to Aslan, but she couldn't say anything. She felt lighter and somewhat happier. The lion looked deep into her eyes and she felt a strength surge within her that she had never felt before.

"Go in peace," was all the lion told her.

**

* * *

****One Year Later**

"Mother, how long will we be staying in Archanland?" asked Lura as her mother tied her dress.

"I'm not sure, but behave yourself; all of you. This wedding is very important."

"Who is getting married?" asked Martin.

"I've told you already, Prince Cor and Lady Aravis. They're very good friends of mine and want you all on your best behavior.

True enough, Cor and Aravis were getting married. To everybody's disbelief.

Annelise and her family were invited and Prince Corin was coming up to Narnia, to escort them there.

"He should be here soon. Are you all packed?"

"Yes Mother," they all said. Soon there was a knock on the door and Tumnus peered in.

"He's here," he said.

"Yaaay! Can we go see him, Mother? Please?" they begged.

"Yes, go ahead," she said and they all ran out of the room, leaving only her and Tumnus.

"Thank you, Uncle. I'll try not to stay there to long ," she said as she went about the room picking up toys and putting them into her children's toy box. She was tired and this was probably the last thing she wanted to do.

"You know," began Tumnus, "That tomorrow is the first anniversary of their disappearance." Annelise stopped and looked at him for a moment and the away.

"Yes, I know," she replied in barely a whisper.

"Uncle," she said suddenly as she turned to face him, "do you think I'm ready?"

"Ready? For what?"

"To love. To love another man; like I did Edmund."

"I don't know," he said, "It's different with everybody."

"Sometimes, I think it would be wrong..."

"Annelise," Tumnus interrupted as he placed his hands on her arms, "Edmund would want you to love again. And if you do, let it be to someone that Edmund would smile upon wherever he is."

At that moment there was a knock and Corin came in.

"Oh, I'm...I'm sorry," he stumbled, "Your children are ready to go whenever you are," he said to Annelise.

"Thank you," she said, "I'll be down shortly." He nodded and then left. Annelise turned and looked back at her uncle.

"Corin."

"Yes, Corin. He has loved you all his life."

"But what about this thing with Susan?"

"That? That was all an act!" said Tumnus, "A simple boyhood fantasy. No, it is you that he always loved. He never said anything to Edmund though."

"Because he was his best friend," Annelise said.

"Yes. Edmund asked Corin to take care of you in case anything happened to him."

"He did?" Annelise asked as tears filled in her eyes.

"Yes, remember what Aslan said. That he would always take care of you."

"Oh Uncle, what would I do without you?" she cried as she threw her arms around him.

"It's not me, little one. But the power of someone greater," he kissed softly on her forehead and then said, "Go, and start a new life."

Annelise nodded. She hugged Tumnus one more time and then left. Corin was waiting for her outside the room.

"Thank you for doing this," she said as they walked down the stairs.

"Oh, it's not a problem," he answered.

She could hear her children's laughter downstairs. Her heart ached for a second remembering all the times she and Edmund walked down those stairs together and the children would be at the bottem asking them to play with them.

She looked over at Corin, he had grown so much. They were the same age, but he seemed so much older. Because she had been so in love with Edmund since she was fifteen, she had never noticed how handsome Corin was.

He had changed a lot in the last several years. He had grown up...and so had she.

With Edmund, her life was magical, a fairytale. It had been innocent and he protected that innocence.

Now that he was gone, so was her innocence. She had to grow up and it was painful and it was hard, but now she realized it was all part of living.

Back in his own world, Edmund was growing up and he would probably find someone else.

It was time to let go.

She hesitantly asked, "Would you like to come back to Narnia with us and stay here for a short while? My children enjoy your company and... I do too."

There were a few minutes of akward silence that made Annelise uncomfortable.

"Yes," said Corin, "I would like that very much."

* * *

One year later, Annelise and Corin were married. It was a happy event for both families. The children had a father again and Annelise had found someone to love. It was even happier marriage and together they had five children.

Although, Annelise never forgot Edmund and Corin didn't want her to forget nor her children.

Tumnus took over Narnia when she and her children moved to Archenland, a few months after the wedding.

On the day before they were to leave, Annelise was looking at the ocean. The same ocean that had led Edmund to her and her to him. She was in the same place where they had their first kiss.

So many memories. Maybe it was good that she leaving and starting a new life.

She looked down saw her new husband carrying Martin. At that moment he looked up and smiled at her. She smiled back - her heart swelled with so much love.

She placed her hand over her stomach and grinned. Their first child together. They would tell the children soon. Corin wanted a lot of children and she did too. In so many ways he was like Edmund, but still his own person.

She looked around. This had been her home for seven years. She was Narnian and always would be.

Her life was one of such mystery and wonder. So much had happened to her; so much she never could imagine.

Ever since the moment she met Edmund, her life had never been the same again.

Admist all the fears and dangers of her true identity and her lineage, the wonderful times with Edmund's family, the joy of seeing her Narnia family again, the few, short, happy years she had with Edmund and their children, and being a chosen one of Aslan.

All of that had taught her one thing. That she was not in control of her life. That there was a plan for her even though she did not know it at the time.

Through trials and triumphs, through laughter and tears that reflected the sad sweet memory of a man who came into her life and through his love gave her power to love others in return, even after he was gone.

Your life is never an assurance. In one moment it will change and nothing will ever be the same again.

The path you were once traveling on so assuredly will take a sudden turn and you must be strong enough to face the new challenges that it brings you.

Annelise looked up to the sun setting in the sky. The day was ending and a new one would soon begin.

Tomorrow she would leave her old life and start a new one in Archenland. No, she had never imagined this ever happening.

Then again, she had never imagined a lot of things that had happened in her life, and good or bad, she was glad that they did.


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

If you're wondering about Edmund's book, Tumnus buried it in a small book case in The Great Western Woods before he died.

Thousands of years later - when the Calormens had taken over Narnia and humans were now settled there and everything in old Narnia was forgotten - a little girl found the bookcase in her backyard and began to read the book. She enjoyed the stories so much, that she told them to her children and to her grandchildren.

She had a granddaughter that enjoyed the stories just as much as she did. When that granddaughter grew up, she became a nurse to a little Narnian prince and told the stories to him.

Because the prince loved and believed those stories that were preserved for so many years, he was able to save his country from his evil uncle and bring Narnia back to its original splendor.

Many of you will know him as _Prince Caspian X_.


	23. A Life So Loved

**Hey! I've gotten a lot of great reviews for my story "The Beloved and The Just: A Narnian Love Story." **

**and a lot of people have been asking me to write another chapter from Edmund's POV regarding his seperation from his wife and children.**

**So, I have finally managed to sit down and write it.**

**I hope you like it : )**

**

* * *

**

**A Life so Loved**

(The day before Caspian is crowned king)

_On this half lit day_

_With you crown beneath your wing_

_Every word just echoes_

_And an empty world sings._

_Where have you gone my feather light heart?_

_I never imagined I would leave.*_

* * *

"Here it is," whispered Edmund as he came upon the worn leather book.

He carefully opened up the front and read the name inside.

_King Edmund James Pevensie_

He began to feel a sickening tightness in his stomach.

All of a sudden he wanted to be back on the battlefield again. Taking down Telemarines; that was easy.

Opening up a lifetime of memories was not.

Sweet and painful; happy and sorrowful.

To do so would make him remember.

To know that _she _wasn't a dream that came to him every now and then for almost a year.

To realize that no matter how hard he tried, he could never forget _her_.

_Annelise, Annelise…My Annelise._

_Why? Why was I made to come back here?_

_To remember that what I once held so dear to me, is now gone forever?_

_To still wonder why you were given to me, only to be taken away after a few short years?_

The others had forgotten her. Forgotten that he had been the only one that had been married and had a family.

Why? He couldn't figure out.

The questions swirled in his mind as he flipped through page after page of the old book of memories.

He still remembered when Father Christmas had given him the book. On that cold snowy morning when he had been seconds away from death.

He smiled to himself as he silently read from the old pages. Remembering the writings as if they had been written only yesterday.

As he turned another page a loose piece of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor.

Edmund bent down and opened it up.

It was a drawing that he had done many years ago.

The lady in the picture was sitting under a tree next to a stream. She was smiling sweetly at some small moment of excitement.

"_Culrik, you shouldn't be carrying so many apples."_

Edmund's head jerked up and he looked around the room.

Her voice had been so clear that he believed that she was actually in there with him.

He let out a sigh as he closed the book and set it back down on the table.

"_This is too much,"_ he thought. _"I shouldn't have come here. _

_I knew what would happen and did it anyway. _

_I was better off just pretending that she never existed. Just like I did with Narnia."_

He leaned back on the table and looked outside the window.

The sun was setting and he could still hear the happy rabble down in the streets. Peter, Susan, and Lucy were all down there.

A new victory, a new king, a new day. It all seemed perfect.

"_Until I have to go back home and then what? I forget her again? _

_I'm beginning to sound like Susan"._

She had a point though. Even he had to admit.

Why go back and finally get use to one life and then get dragged back for whatever reason it might be and be overwhelmed by a life you were trying desperately to forget?

Edmund closed his eyes. Just for a moment.

For that moment he could see 15 years of happiness that he knew he would never receive back in the real world.

7 of those years…_Annelise, Culrik, Lura_, _and Martin_…

_oh_…_my children…how could I forget them?_

He could hear their laughter.

See them taking their first steps, teaching them to ride their ponies, playing with their aunts and uncle, running through the forests of the Great Western Wood, make snow angels outside of Cair Paravel.

They had been his joy. They had been his redemption. They had been his miracle.

And then…_Annelise._

He could see it now. So clearly.

The first time they met…_on the beach in Terebinthia._

Her first trip to Narnia…_our first kiss_.

Founding out who she was…_She was always so much better than me._

Their beautiful wedding…_She broke the curse within me._

Almost losing her…_She was me dream, my reality and everything in-between._

He opened his eyes…and his tears began to run. And run and run and run.

He tried to get control of himself, but couldn't.

How could he? How could he be expected to forget all of this?

How could he forget a life that was so _loved_? A life that taught him to love?

He lifted his hands to his face and wiped his eyes.

Letting out a deep breath he slowly started to pull himself back together.

"You never truly forget the ones that you love," came a gentle voice. "No matter what world you live in."

Edmund turned, expecting Aslan only to see Caspian's former teacher Dr. Cornelius.

"Are those words spoken out of experience?" he asked.

The older man smiled and stood next to him. He looked down and picked up the book.

"Caspian's former nurse read these stories to him. And she was sent away for it."

"Caspian read _these_ stories?" Edmund said, slightly confused.

"Oh yes," said Dr. Cornelius, "They were his favorite. It's what led him to believe in Aslan. These simple sweet stories."

It took a moment for Edmund to process all of it.

"_So, Father Christmas had been right. He had saved Narnia…with his memories. So carefully preserved."_

"Dr. Cornelius, do you know what happened to my wife and my children?"

"Well, your wife, Annelise right?"

Edmund nodded.

"She married your friend Prince Cor...no…wait, yes…Prince Corin of Archenland. And live there for the rest of her days.

They had five more children and lived, from what I have studied, a very happy life there."

Edmund had to smile, in spite of himself.

"I told Corin to take of her if something ever happened to me. I knew I could trust him."

"Yes," said Dr. Cornelius, "he took very good care of her and your children."

"So, she's probably buried in Archenland," Edmund said staring straight out the window.

"Oh no. She's buried here."

"What?" said Edmund turning suddenly to the old professor, "Where?"

"Only a few minutes away from here. Shall I take you there?"

He thought for a second.

"_Can I? Should I?"_

"Yes. Please take me."

* * *

Dr. Cornelius took Edmund out of Miraz's former castle and led him through a forest.

In and out they weaved through the trees. Treading through the moss and ferns.

It seemed like the longest walk. A few minutes that could be an eternity.

"Here is it," said Dr. Cornelius finally stopping at a small clearing.

"There," he pointed to a white stone coming out of the ground.

Edmund's heart pounded. He slowly walked toward the tomb.

Never had the world seemed so still; so silent.

When he got there, he knelt down and brushed away the old leaves that covered the writing.

_**Queen Annelise Camilla Elizabeth Elvenwood Pevensie Adamelle**_

_**Queen of Narnia & Archenland **_

_**and Princess of Terebinthia**_

_**Beloved wife of King Edmund the Just, former king of Narnia**_

_**And then to Prince Corin of Archenland**_

_**Dearest mother **_

_**Most loyal friend**_

_**A never ending light in the darkness.**_

_**Aslan has taken her for his own.**_

_**May she be as happy as the lives she has made happy. **_

Edmund began to laugh and cry. Never had he felt freer.

"_Now I am happy. I have found you. _

_You were never gone from me. I have come back to you, as you have come back to me."_

"Thank you, thank you for bringing me here, Dr. Cornelius. You have no idea how much this means to me."

The older man smiled. "Your children…they are buried in Archenland.

When their mother died they thought it would be proper to bury her here. Seeing as she is…completely Narnian."

"More Narnian that all of us. And not just because she was born here," said Edmund,

"Aslan called to her and she answered, therefore she is Narnian."

"Yes," said Dr. Cornelius after a moment, "That is very true.

When your children asked about you, she would say that you were in the stars

and so every night she would take them outside and they would wave to you and know that you would always be watching over them."

Edmund smiled and looked up to the sky

It had grown dark and the stars were appearing. Beautiful and bright.

He searched and searched. His eyes scanning the sky for what his heart was longing for.

And then he found her.

The Anlestia star, shining over the great Western Woods; shining over him. Still as beautiful and luminescent as ever.

"Always watching, always waiting, always…believing," said Edmund as got up off the ground.

"Believing in what?" asked Dr. Cornelius.

"So many things. So many that she taught me. That life isn't just breathing.

That it is love that gives us life."

Edmund took one more look at the tombstone

"And never have I ever known a life that has been so loved."

"_Goodbye. My Anee. My Beloved."_

_

* * *

_

_In the glistening _

_of the lost and open sky_

_Tiny piece of you sit_

_Simple wish waits for reply_

_Where have you gone my feather light heart?_

_You mustn't forget what love can see.*_

*"Where," by Lisbeth Scott

-from the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.


End file.
